Abstract
Maqui (Aristotelia chilensis (Mol.) Stuntz) is a Chilean berry rich in antioxidants, which are mostly found in the pulp and skin of the fruit. The objective was to evaluate the cryoconcentration process by centrifugation–filtration as a simultaneous, efficient, and innovative method to increase the content of thermosensitive bioactive compounds of aqueous maqui extract. Cryoconcentration separated the concentrated solute from the aqueous maqui extract with an efficiency of more than 95%; it increased the content of total polyphenols and total anthocyanins and antioxidant capacity by 280%, 573%, and 226%, respectively. Although the concentrates obtained by evaporation at 50, 70, and 80 °C increased the content of bioactive compounds, they did so in a lower percentage than the cryoconcentrate. Furthermore, cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside was degraded at 70 and 80 °C. In conclusion, cryoconcentration by centrifugation–filtration as a simultaneous process efficiently separates the solutes from the frozen matrix of aqueous maqui extract, and it maintains and increases the contents of polyphenols and anthocyanins and antioxidant capacity. This method is recommended for concentrating natural berry extracts with thermosensitive compounds.
Highlights
The present study demonstrated that cryoconcentration is an effective method to increase the antioxidant potential of maqui extract
Cryoconcentration by centrifugation–filtration is an innovative process for separating soluble solids from aqueous maqui extract, and its separation efficiency was greater than
Eight anthocyanins were identified in C in which the delphinidin derivatives prevailed over the cyanidin derivatives
Summary
The demand for health-promoting foods has significantly increased [1,2]. Based on the current interest in finding natural phytochemicals derived from plant raw materials to replace synthetic substances, the food industry has developed new types of processing and extraction and concentration techniques for these compounds; it has primarily focused on the bioactive phytochemicals in fruits [6]. Concentration by freezing is used to recover concentrated solutes from liquid foods in which the solution is concentrated by separating the pure ice crystals. This is compared with evaporation and membrane technologies. Its effectiveness in protecting bioactive compounds in various types of fruit products and juices has been demonstrated [9,10]
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