Prospecting and identifying bioactive compounds in agroindustrial byproducts

Author(s)

Tatiane Luiza Cadorin Oldoni

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Piracicaba.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA/STB)
• Defense date: 2011-01-25

Examining board members

Severino Matias de Alencar; Adibe Luiz Abdalla; Helena Teixeira Godoy; Simone Possedente de Lira; Pedro Luiz Rosalen

• Advisor: Severino Matias de Alencar

Abstract

Nowadays, millions of tons of by-products are produced during food processing in agroindustrial plants. Most of them are rich in bioactive compounds, mainly phenolic substances, responsible for several biological activities. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the total phenolic compound content and the antioxidant activity of three agroindustrial by-products Cabernet Sauvignon grape stalks and pomace (Vitis vinifera) and peanut skin (Arachis hypogaea) , optimizing the process to extract the bioactive compounds, and selecting the by-product with the highest potential for bioguided fractionation and isolation of the compounds responsible for antioxidant activity. All the by-products were collected in the first semester of 2010, frozen, and lyophilized. Total phenolic compound content was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and antioxidant potential during optimization of the extraction process was assessed by the DPPH radical-scavenging method. The process used to optimize the extraction of antioxidant compounds was carried out initially using univariate models and, after that, a 22 factorial planning was developed using solvent concentration and extraction temperature as variables. In the last phase of the process used to optimize the extraction, we performed an experiment using ultrasound. For the three byproducts analyzed we observed higher DPPH radical-scavenging activity as the extraction temperature and acetone concentration increased. The best conditions for the extraction of antioxidant compounds were acetone at 60% and extraction temperature of 70oC in thermostatic bath. Based on the results of this study, we carried out the bioguided isolation of bioactive compounds from peanut skin, since this was the by-product that presented the highest phenolic compound content and antioxidant activity. Peanut skin crude extract was purified using Amberlite XAD2 resin to generate two fractions, named methanol (Met-Fr) and aqueous fractions (Aqu-Fr). After evaluating the antioxidant activity of these fractions using the DPPH and ABTS radical-scavenging methods, as well as determining their chemical profile by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Met-Fr, the fraction presenting the highest bioactivity, was rechromatographed on a Sephadex LH-20 gel column. During this process, 123 subfractions were obtained and they were regrouped, after thin-layer chromatography (TLC), into 18 subfractions. These subfractions were evaluated as to their antioxidant activity and subfraction 10, which presented high antioxidant activity, underwent isolation of compounds using semipreparative HPLC. Two compounds were isolated and named compound 1 and compound 2. Compound 1 was the most potent, presenting DPPH radical-scavenging activity, in terms of IC50, of 18.25 \'mü\'g.mL-1, and Fe3+ reduction of 7.59 mmol Fe2+.g-1, values that are higher than the synthetic antioxidant BHT. The results of antioxidant activity evaluated by the ABTS radical-scavenging method showed that compound 1 (6.54 mmol TEAC.g-1) has activity similar to natural standards with known activity, such as quercetin and catechin. Using the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique we identified compound 1 as epicatechin-(2\'beta\'\'SETA\'O\'SETA\'7,4\'beta\'\'SETA\'6)-[epicatechin- (4\'beta\'\'SETA\'8)]-catechin and compound 2 as epicatechin-(2\'beta\'SETA\'O\'SETA7,4\'beta\'\'SETA\'8)-[epicatechin-(4\'beta\'\'SETA\'8)]- catechin-(4\'alfa\'\'SETA\'8)-epicatechin, both belonging to the proantocianidin class. The results obtained in the present study showed that the agroindustrial by-products analyzed are rich in phenolic compounds with high antioxidant activity and, therefore, should be more explored by food and pharmaceutical industries (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/07944-9 - Prospection and identification of bioactive coumpounds from agroinstrial waste for application in the food industry
• Grantee: Tatiane Luiza Cadorin Oldoni
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate