ULTRASONIC ASSISTED EXTRACTION OF COENZYME Q10 FROM LITCHI (LITCHI CHINENSIS SONN.) PERICARP USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

Abstract

ABSTRACT Litchi is an exotic fruit in tropical and subtropical areas. In this work, litchi pericarp was chosen to extract coenzyme Q10 by ultrasonic treatment. Response surface methodology was used to build a mathematical model between the yield of coenzyme Q10 and ultrasonic variables (ultrasonic power, time and temperature). The P values of the model and “lack of fit,” as well as R2, were determined to be 0.0006, 0.143 and 0.938, respectively. All these values confirmed that the model had a good fitness to the true behavior. The response surface plots indicated that ultrasonic time and temperature showed apparent effects on the yield of coenzyme Q10. The optimal conditions to obtain the highest yield of coenzyme Q10 were determined to be 127.9 W, 50.0 min and 69.8C. The predicted yield was 135.3 µg/g dry pericarp, which was not significantly (P > 0.05) different to the experimental value determined under the same ultrasonic conditions.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSCoenzyme Q10 has been reported to have many pharmaceutical properties such as against heart failure and hypertension. Litchi is a well‐accepted fruit over the world. A significant amount of coenzyme Q10 has been detected in its pericarp. It will be an interesting attempt to investigate the potential of litchi fruit pericarp as the source of coenzyme Q10. Therefore, coenzyme Q10 was extracted from litchi fruit pericarp by ultrasonic treatment in this work. The effects of ultrasonic power, time and temperature on the yield of coenzyme Q10 were measured by response surface methodology. The optimalconditions to obtain the highest yield of coenzyme Q10 were calculated. The results confirmed litchi pericarp as a good source of coenzyme Q10. This research was helpful for extensive development of this special fruit.