{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T17:42:44Z","timestamp":1790012564776,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]],"date-time":"2025-06-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1750118400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Acad\u00e9mie de recherche et d\u2019enseignement sup\u00e9rieur (ARES)"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) have emerged as a promising eco-friendly alternative to petrochemicals for extracting plant metabolites. Considering that the demand for sustainable \u201cgreen\u201d ingredients for industrial applications is growing, those solvents are purported to develop extracts with interesting phytochemical fingerprints and biological activities. Given the interest in flavonoids from Chenopodium quinoa Willd. leaves, an efficient \u201cgreen\u201d extraction method was developed by investigating eight NADESs with defined molar ratios, i.e., malic acid-choline chloride (chcl)-water (w) (1:1:2, N1), chcl-glucose-w (5:2:5, N2), proline-malic acid-w (1:1:3, N3), glucose-fructose-sucrose-w (1:1:1:11, N4), 1,2-propanediol-chcl-w (1:1:1, N5), lactic acid-glucose-w (5:1:3, N6), glycerol-chcl-w (2:1:1, N7), and xylitol-chcl-w (1:2:3, N8). Rheological measurements of all NADESs confirmed their pseudoplastic behaviors. To improve the extraction processes, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) allowed us to determine the maximum amount of water that could be added to the most stable NADES (N1, N2, N3, and N4; 17.5%, 20%, 10%, and 10% w\/w, respectively) to lower their viscosities without disturbing their eutectic environments. The phytochemical compositions of NADES extracts were analyzed using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), and their free radical scavenging and \u03b1-amylase inhibitory properties were assessed using HPTLC-bioautography. N2, diluted with 20% of water, and N7 presented the best potential for replacing methanol for an eco-friendly extraction of flavonoids, radical scavengers, and \u03b1-amylase inhibitors from quinoa leaves. Their biological properties, combined with a good understanding of both thermal behavior and viscosity, make the obtained quinoa leaf NADES extracts good candidates for direct incorporation in nutraceutical formulations.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules30122620","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]],"date-time":"2025-06-17T07:04:52Z","timestamp":1750143892000},"page":"2620","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":10,"title":["Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADESs) for the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) Leaves: A Semi-Quantitative Analysis Using High Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2317-5666","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ver\u00f3nica","family":"Taco","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Central University of Ecuador (UCE), Av. Universitaria, Quito PC 170129, Ecuador"},{"name":"Unit of Therapeutic Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars, 25, 7000 Mons, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dennys","family":"Almachi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Central University of Ecuador (UCE), Av. Universitaria, Quito PC 170129, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1371-1920","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pablo","family":"Bonilla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Chemical Sciences, Central University of Ecuador (UCE), Av. Universitaria, Quito PC 170129, Ecuador"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ixchel","family":"Gij\u00f3n-Arreort\u00faa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Autonomous University of Yucat\u00e1n (UADY), Perif\u00e9rico Norte Km. 33.5, Tablaje Catastral 13615, Colonia Chuburn\u00e1 de Hidalgo Inn, M\u00e9rida 97203, Yucat\u00e1n, Mexico"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samira","family":"Benali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Innovation and Research in Materials, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars, 25, 7000 Mons, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1940-7129","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jean-Marie","family":"Raquez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Innovation and Research in Materials, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars, 25, 7000 Mons, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0484-1478","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pierre","family":"Duez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Therapeutic Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars, 25, 7000 Mons, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8697-2809","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Amandine","family":"Nachtergael","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Therapeutic Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Mons (UMONS), Avenue du Champ de Mars, 25, 7000 Mons, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,17]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2548","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.jced.7b01037","article-title":"Synthesis and physical and thermodynamic properties of lactic acid and malic acid-based natural deep eutectic solvents","volume":"63","author":"Castro","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. 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