The effects of extraction technique on phenolic compounds extracted from fig (Ficuscarica) pulp andskin

Abstract

Recently, Subcritical Water Extraction (SWE) has been well known as a green technology for extraction of bioactive compounds from plants. In this study, Subcritical water extraction, ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and shaker solvent extraction (SSE) were compared for extraction of phenolic compounds from fig (Ficuscarica) pulp and skin. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated using DPPH radical scavenging, reducing power and rancimat tests. Subcritical waterhad the highest ability for extraction of total phenolic content (65.89±0.21 and 80.79±0.09 mg of gallic acid equivalents per gram of extract respectively) and flavonoid compounds (7.51±0.33 and 10.1±1.02 mg of quercetinequivalents per gram of extract, respectively)from both pulp and skin.The lowest IC50 in DPPH radical scavenging and reducing power tests were related to SWE of skin extract of fig. Furthermore, in extraction of total phenol and flavonoid compounds, subcritical water extraction showed to be a more suitable method than other solvent extraction methods, both in pulp and skin.