Advanced separation of phytochemical and bioactive attributes from various morphological components of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) tree

Abstract

This work provides data on the advanced extraction of phenolic compounds from different morphological parts (flower, leaf, fruit, twig, seed, and bark) of the sugar maple tree, information which is still limited. Additionally, it explores the operating parameters of a fundamental advanced extraction unit operation (microwave-assisted extraction), considered environment friendly. Results based on the FTIR spectra, spectrophotometric and HPLC analyses showed that sugar maple's morphological parts can be dynamic candidates to be used as either natural preservative or antioxidant additive for application in food, nutraceuticals, and pharmaceutical industries. Yields of antioxidant components such as total phenols, total flavonoids, condensed tannins, and extractable tannins in sugar maple ranged from respectively 35.77−136.55 mg GAE/g DM, 10.51−47.33 mg CTE/g DM, 5.33−127.33 mg CTE/g DM, and 32.21−110.35 mg GAE/g DM. In addition, different morphological parts of sugar maple could also be used as purpose-based food ingredients, other than as antioxidant additives. For instance, leaf can be utilized as a promising source for protein (21.16% ± 0.83%) extraction, the bark was determined to have high carbohydrate (87.27% ± 0.33%) content, while seeds showed higher ash (inorganic nutrients) (7.84% ± 0.07%) and fat (6.12% ± 0.44%) contents. Thermogravimetric analysis showed that leaf followed by bark have considerable thermal stability while the opposite condition was seen in the case of maple fruits.