Optimization by Means of Chemometric Tools of an Ultrasound-Assisted Method for the Extraction of Betacyanins from Red Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

Ceferino Carrera,Ana Ruiz-Rodríguez,Miguel Palma,Widiastuti Setyaningsih,Marta Ferreiro-González,Gerardo Fernández Barbero,Jean Pastol

doi:10.3390/agronomy11061053

Ceferino Carrera, Ana Ruiz-Rodríguez + Show 5 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11061053

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Abstract

Betacyanins have been reported to provide prominent health-promoting effects, in addition to contributing to the exotic color and pleasant palate of red dragon fruit that has been attracting universal interest for over a decade. An accurate determination of betacyanins in dragon fruit is important if we are to benefit from the nutraceutical features of these compounds. Seven betacyanin pigments have been identified and extracted by means of ultrasound-assisted techniques from red dragon fruit. Chemometric tools such as Box–Behnken Design (BBD) in conjunction with response surface methodology (RSM) have been successfully used to evaluate and optimize the relevant extraction variables i.e., temperature (A: 10, 35, 60 °C), solvent composition (B: 20, 50, 80% methanol in water), sample to solvent ratio (C: 0.1:10, 0.2:10, 0.3:10 g/mL), power (D: 20, 45, 70%), and cycle (E: 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 s−1). The results obtained from the analysis of variance (ANOVA) suggest that the solvent composition (p 0.0063), sample to solvent ratio (p 0.0126), and cycle (p 0.0302) are the most influential variables in betacyanin extraction. The optimal variable settings for ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) were a 54.6 °C extraction temperature, 0.3 s−1 cycle, 20% ultrasound power, 21.4% methanol in water solvent composition, 0.2:10 sample to solvent ratio, and a 5 min extraction time. The validation of the method for repeatability and intermediate precision provided excellent results at 1.56% and 2.94% respectively. Furthermore, the novel UAE method was successfully used for the determination of betacyanins content in red dragon fruit from different geographic origins.

Highlights

IntroductionBetacyanins, are responsible for the typical red color of this fruit and have been demonstrated to exhibit considerable antioxidant activity with potential applications in functional foods [1]
The new ultrasound-assisted extraction method developed in this research for the extraction of betacyanins from red dragon fruit was successfully optimized by means of a
The optimum extraction conditions were established as 21.4% methanol in water at 54.6 ◦ C for 5 min under 20% ultrasound power and a 0.3 s−1 cycle and 0.2/10 g/mL sample-to-solvent ratio

Summary

Introduction

Betacyanins, are responsible for the typical red color of this fruit and have been demonstrated to exhibit considerable antioxidant activity with potential applications in functional foods [1]. Betacyanins have been reported to provide a number of prominent functional properties such as nephroprotective [2], antioxidant [3], anti-inflammatory [4], and osteoarthritis pain relief [5]. Because of these health-promoting effects, in addition to its exotic red color and pleasing palate, red dragon fruit has attracted global interest over the last decade.

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