Abstract
Prunus spinosa L. is a shrub that produces berries—sloes—with a high content of phenolic compounds and anthocyanins. Numerous consumer products are made from sloes, such as “Pacharán” liquors or jams. For these reasons, it is crucial to design accurate analytical methods for the extraction of these bioactive compounds in order to promote their consumption and to improve our health. In this study, an ultrasound-assisted extraction method was developed to extract phenolic compounds and anthocyanins from sloes. Several process variables (methanol composition, pH, temperature, cycle, amplitude, and sample–solvent ratio) were optimized based on a Box–Behnken design. The most influential parameters for the extraction of total phenolic compounds were the cycle, the percentage of methanol, and pH of the extraction solvent, with 0.2 s, 67%, and pH 7 as their optimal values, respectively. For total anthocyanins, all parameters were influential, with 44% methanol at pH 2, 48 °C, 0.2 s cycles, 30% amplitude, and 1.5 g/20 mL ratio as the optimal values for their corresponding variables. Both methods showed high recoveries, short time use, and high precision (RSD < 5%). In addition, the sloe liqueur “Pacharán” and sloe jams were analyzed to demonstrate the applicability of these methods for the extraction of the real matrix.
Highlights
There is a current growing interest in natural sources with a high content of bioactive compounds [1].Among these natural sources, plant products with antioxidant properties are increasingly being applied in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries as effective remedies to counteract the harming actions of free radicals and to stop oxidant processes that cause different pathological conditions [2]
Anthocyanins from Sloes contrary to what happened with the phenolic compounds, the lack of fit test showed p-values greater than 0.05, which means that the model fits correctly
With respect to the linear terms, the effect of percentage of methanol in water was negative; this means that the solvents with a low methanol content in water in the range studied in this work were more efficient to extract the anthocyanins in sloes
Summary
There is a current growing interest in natural sources with a high content of bioactive compounds [1] Among these natural sources, plant products (fruits, berries, leaves, flowers, etc.,) with antioxidant properties are increasingly being applied in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries as effective remedies to counteract the harming actions of free radicals and to stop oxidant processes that cause different pathological conditions [2]. Ultrasound-assisted extraction has previously been used for the extraction of antioxidants from its flowers [21] and anthocyanins from the epicarp [22], but not for total phenolic compounds or the whole berry, and in both works, using far fewer variables than those studied in this article. Having efficient methods to extract the bioactive compounds that are found in sloe berries is of great interest for food industries to improve their processes as well as the quality of their raw materials, by-products, and final products
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