Selective adsorption of limonin and naringin from orange juice to natural and synthetic adsorbents

Abstract

In the majority of citrus juices, bitterness is mainly ascribed to the presence of limonoids (triterpenes) and flavanone glycosides (flavonoids), namely limonin and naringin. In this study, the selective removal of limonin and naringin from citrus juice by batch adsorption to different materials was investigated. Since the removal of reducing sugars, pigments and vitamin C may also occur, the eventual adsorption of these compounds was also investigated. The following adsorbents were tested: activated diatomaceous earths, granulated activated carbon and synthetic neutral resins (Amberlite XAD-4, XAD-7 and XAD-16). Both Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models showed a good fit to the adsorption of limonin to the resins used. Concerning naringin adsorption, a good fit of these models was only observed when the XAD-7 resin was used. Sigmoidal profiles were obtained for the adsorption of limonin to granular activated carbon. Unfavourable isotherms were also observed for limonin and naringin adsorption to activated earths. These isotherm adsorption profiles can be explained by a multilayer adsorption phenomenon. The highest adsorption efficiency for the bitter compounds was observed when synthetic neutral resin, Amberlite XAD-7 was used. The separation factor limonin/naringin varied from 16 (with earths) to 57 (with XAD-7 resin). The adsorption of sugars and pigments to the resins was low. No adsorption of vitamin C was detected for any of the adsorbents tested. The estimated affinity and separation factors show that the neutral resins tested are adequate for the selective removal of limonin from orange juices. The estimated values of free energy of adsorption, lower than –13.3 kJ mol–1 K–1, indicate that a physiosorption process occurred.