GREEN CHEMISTRY & CATALYSIS FOR SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC SYNTHESIS OF NUTRACEUTICS

The essence of 12 Principles of Green Chemistry (1,2) can be reduced to the useful working definition: Green chemistry efficiently utilizes (preferably renewable) raw materials, eliminates waste, and avoids the use of toxic and/or hazardous reagents and solvents in the manufacture and application of chemical products. Of course, it is not expected that any synthetic process will satisfy all green chemistry principles, but the more it satisfies lower its impact on the environment will be. It has been estimated that solvents are the major contributor to the E factors of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes, amounting to about 85% of the total mass of chemicals involved in pharmaceutical processes.(3) Consequently, pharmaceutical companies are focusing their effort on minimizing solvent use and in replacement of many traditional organic solvents, such as chlorinated and aromatic hydrocarbons, by more environmentally friendly alternatives including supercritical CO2, fluorous biphasic, and ionic liquids alone or in liquid-liquid biphasic combinations. Unfortunately, many of the nonconventional reaction media have prohibitive cost and/or toxicity (4). This work will deal a new philosophy driving chemistry toward sustainability. Will be described new processes environmentally friendly for extraction and derivatization of natural products, and synthesis of potential nutraceuticals (5). The new processes developed incorporating the green chemistry, could be useful for future industrial applications