A short time bioactive compounds extraction from Cucurbita pepo seed using continuous ultrasound‐assisted extraction

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effect of acoustic cavitation on phenolic compounds recovery from Cucurbita pepo seed using continuous ultrasound-assisted extraction (CUAE) as a green extraction process. A Box–Behnken response surface design was carried out to investigate and optimize the CUAE independent variables, including concentration of hydroethanolic solvent, biomass to solvent ratio, and sonication time on the total extractable phenols (TEP). The optimized conditions were 70.98% v/v concentration of hydroethanolic solvent, 1:26.49 g/mL ratio of biomass to solvent, and 55.38 min sonication time, under which the predicted TEP was 14.01 mg GAE/g. The determination of DPPH and HO free radical scavenging abilities revealed that the extract had a good ability to scavenge these free radicals and polyphenol concentration was positively correlated with antiradical capacity (AC). The gas chromatography–mass spectrophotometer (GC/MS) analysis revealed that C. pepo seed extract is a potential source of essential fatty acids (39% of total fatty acids). From the results, the phenolic compounds and essential fatty acids from C. pepo seeds could be obtained using the cavitation phenomenon during short time extraction. The AC of product was considerably influenced by the CUAE process mode, while the fatty acid composition was almost constant. The microstructure of cells was investigated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), which confirmed the cell disruption by acoustic cavitation technology.