Abstract
The agri-food industry is currently one of the main engines of economic development worldwide. The region of Murcia is a reference area in Europe for the cultivation of fruits and vegetables and produces the bulk of Spanish exports of broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica). The processing of fresh produce generates a huge number of by-products that represent an important economic and environmental problem when discarded. In this work, an advanced extraction technique using environmentally friendly solvents was applied to assess the revalorization of broccoli by-products, by performing a comparative analysis with conventional extraction. To achieve this goal, supercritical fluid extraction based on response surface methodology was performed using CO2 and ethanol as solvents. The results obtained showed that the supercritical fluid extracts were rich in β-carotene, phenolic compounds, chlorophylls and phytosterols. Moreover, in bioactivity assays, the supercritical fluid extracts exhibited a high antioxidant activity and a cytoprotective effect in a non-tumorigenic keratinocyte cell line exposed to ultraviolet B light. The results indicate that supercritical fluid extracts from broccoli by-products could potentially serve as an ingredient for cosmetic purposes.
Highlights
Broccoli, a plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family, is cultivated in the region of Murcia, where the harvest represents 40% of the total broccoli production in Spain, with a total cultivated area of 12,500 ha and a production of 164,020 kg/ha [1]
At low doses (25 mJ cm−2), the application of supercritical fluid extraction (SFE)-NX extracts increased the viability of the irradiated cells in a dose-dependent manner and no significant differences were found with respect to the control and quercetin-treated cells (p > 0.05) at 10 μg mL−1. These results suggest that a high concentration of SFE from Naxos broccoli by-products (SFE-NX) extract (10 μg mL−1) could have a small cytoprotective effect on human immortalized non-tumorigenic keratinocyte cell line (HaCaT) cells exposed to ultraviolet light B (UVB) light
SFE technology represents an effective alternative to conventional extraction techniques to obtain bioactive components from plant by-products
Summary
A plant belonging to the Brassicaceae family, is cultivated in the region of Murcia, where the harvest represents 40% of the total broccoli production in Spain, with a total cultivated area of 12,500 ha and a production of 164,020 kg/ha [1]. Numerous studies have explored the use of by-products as a source of valuable bioactive compounds with potential application for the treatment and prevention of human diseases [3]. These bioactive compounds are derived from plant secondary metabolism and are synthesized in small amounts compared to other macronutrients. Different functions have been attributed to these valuable plant components. In plants they act as defense mechanisms against environmental stresses, and their biological properties may have health-promoting effects for consumers [4,5]. Among the main components of interest in broccoli by-products are glucosinolates and phenolic compounds (especially flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids), as well as carotenoids, sterols, vitamin C, fiber and mineral elements, which are essential for human health [6,7,8]
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