Abstract
Research interest regarding maqui (Aristotelia chilensis) has increased over the last years due to its potential health benefits as one of the most antioxidant-rich berries. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is an advanced green, fast, and ecological extraction technique for the production of high quality extracts from natural products, so it has been proposed in this work as an ideal alternative extraction technique for obtaining extracts of high bioactivity from maqui berries. In order to determine the optimal conditions, the extraction variables (percentage of methanol, pH, temperature, ratio “sample mass/volume of solvent”, amplitude, and cycle) were analyzed by a Box-Behnken design, in conjunction with the response surface method. The statistical analysis revealed that the temperature and the percentage of methanol were the most influential variables on the extraction of the total phenolic compounds and total anthocyanins, respectively. The optimal extraction time was determined at 15 min for total phenolic compounds, while it was only 5 min for anthocyanins. The developed methods showed a high precision level with a coefficient of variation of less than 5%. Finally, the new methods were successfully applied to several real samples. Subsequently, the results were compared to those that were obtained in previous experiments by means of microwave assisted extraction (MAE). Similar extraction yields were obtained for phenolic compounds under optimized conditions. However, UAE proved to be slightly more efficient than MAE in the extraction of anthocyanins.
Highlights
There has been growing attention for the consumption of food rich in bioactive compounds that are associated to an improvement of health
Berries are a rich source of bioactive compounds, which contribute to their antioxidant activity and different biological functions, so they can prevent diseases and health disorders [2]
It should be noted that, when optimum conditions are applied to Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) for the extraction of phenolic compounds, the solvent demand is reduced (58% methanol for UAE vs. 65% methanol for microwave assisted extraction (MAE))
Summary
There has been growing attention for the consumption of food rich in bioactive compounds that are associated to an improvement of health. Amongst other types of food, represent a diverse group that includes a number of rather small size, perishable, red, blue, and purple fruits, which are highly valued for their intense colour, delicate texture, and unique flavour [1]. There has been a considerable interest in finding natural antioxidants from plant materials to replace the synthetic ones. Berries are a rich source of bioactive compounds, which contribute to their antioxidant activity and different biological functions, so they can prevent diseases and health disorders [2]. The interest on them and their analysis has grown enormously.
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