Questions Regarding Caffeine Extraction LLE

Hello,

I am writing a research paper on the isolation of caffeine via LLE. I understand pretty much everything except for what happens to the any of the lipids present from the plant material. If the organic solvent essentially splits organic/inorganic compounds into two layers, and the basic solution deprotonates tannins into water-soluble tannate salts, why do the lipids stay in the aqueous layer? Why wouldn't they go to the organic layer with the caffeine given their solubility and non-polarity?

If anybody is well versed on the chemical explanation of caffeine extraction via LLE, please share.

Thanks

Posted Dec 8, 2025, 3:31 AM UTC

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