Quercus suber cork generates bioactive components,
such as phenolic acids, terpenoids, and tannins, with excellent biological
properties, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antiaging
activities. Aiming to design environmentally benign processes to eliminate,
or reduce, the use of toxic chemicals, we propose the green extraction
of bioactives from cork using natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES).
Several deep eutectic mixtures were developed, through the mixture
of natural compounds, namely, lactic acid, glycerol, ethylene glycol,
sodium citrate, and sodium lactate, chosen according to their origin,
toxicity, biocompatibility, polarity, and pH. The results revealed
higher extraction yields when using NADES instead of harsh solvents
like dioxane, with the extraction process governed by several physical–chemical
parameters, including pH, polarity, viscosity, and density, and also
by the method of extraction. Acidic NADES composed of lactic acid
and glycerol, or sodium citrate, extracted a greater amount of aromatic
compounds, terpenoids, and fatty acids and their derivatives. More
basic eutectic mixtures, composed of sodium lactate and a polyol (ethylene
glycol or glycerol), extracted predominantly low molecular weight
polar compounds. The extracts range encompassed by the developed NADES,
together with the associated nontoxicity, low price, and ease of preparation,
establish these solvents as a green approach to extract high added-value
compounds from cork.