A green, simplified, and efficient experimental setup for a high-throughput screening of agri-food by-products - From polar to nonpolar metabolites in sugarcane solid residues

Author(s)

Assirati, Julia ^[1] ; Rinaldo, Daniel ^[2] ; Rabelo, Sarita Candida ^[1] ; Bolzani, Vanderlan da Silva ^[3] ; Hilder, Emily Frances ^[4] ; Funari, Cristiano Soleo ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Sch Agr Sci, Av Univ 3780, BR-18610034 Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[2] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Sch Sci, Av Eng Luiz Edmundo Carrijo Coube 14-01, BR-17033360 Bauru, SP - Brazil

^[3] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Inst Chem, R Prof Francisco Degni 55, BR-14800900 Araraquara, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ South Australia UniSA, Future Ind Inst, X Bldg, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095 - Australia

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of Chromatography A; v. 1634, DEC 20 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

From an environmental perspective, searching for useful compounds in agri-food by-products by employing inefficient and polluting analytical procedures is paradoxical. This work aimed to develop a green, simplified, and highly efficient experimental setup for extracting and tentatively identifying the broadest range of metabolites in sugarcane solid by-products collected directly within the industrial mills. Nine different extraction approaches were investigated side-by-side, including three reference methods. Based on the extraction and environmental performances assessed by two complementary metrics called Analytical-Eco Scale and the Analytical Greenness Calculator, it was possible to reach two highly efficient two liquid-phase extractions while avoiding harmful solvents and traditional time, energy, and solvent consuming sample preparation steps, such as solvent evaporation, metabolite concentration, re-suspension, and derivatization. The simultaneously produced hydroethanolic and n-heptane extracts were directly analyzed by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography, both coupled to mass spectrometry, respectively, leading to the annotation of a large dynamic range of compounds from information rich spectral data. Up to 111 metabolites were identified in a single matrix, from highly polar sucrose to nonpolar wax ester C53 in a single extraction. Orientin, apigenin-6-C-glucosylrhamnoside, 1-octacosanol, octacosanal, and other bioactive compounds were identified in these abundantly available by-products, which are currently just burned to produce energy. The best two methods developed here (Two-Liquid-Phase Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction with Probe and Two-Liquid-Phase Dynamic Maceration) appeared as a green, simplified, and highly efficient procedures to qualitatively profile metabolites in complex solid matrices. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/50025-3 - Green analytical chemistry applied to the investigation of agro industrial wastes generated in Brazil and Australia
• Grantee: Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/06216-6 - Development of green analytical methodologies in the search for high-added value organic compounds in agricultural waste
• Grantee: Cristiano Soleo de Funari
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/09886-5 - Development of green methodologies in the chemical investigation of agro-industrial wastes of sugar cane
• Grantee: Júlia Assirati
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• FAPESP's process: 18/01786-1 - Multi-user equipment approved in grant 2017/06216-6: ultra high performance liquid chromatograph
• Grantee: Cristiano Soleo de Funari
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program
• FAPESP's process: 14/50926-0 - INCT 2014: biodiversity and natural products
• Grantee: Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants