Procyanidins: extraction and micro‐ encapsulation

As by‐products of grape juice and wine production, grape seeds are a rich source of procyanidins but are usually discarded as waste. We have treated grape seeds with supercritical fluid extraction to remove the oils and have extracted the procyanidins from the residues. In order to extend the shelf life, micro‐encapsulating methods for procyanidins were studied: the use of gum arabic and maltodextrin as wall materials (the contents of arabic gum and maltodextrin were 40% and 60%, respectively). The raw materials were then mixed (the ratio of core substance to wall material was 30:70 w/w and the content of the slurry was 20% w/v). After homogenisation, spray drying was used to prepare microcapsules. The micro‐encapsulation efficiency was up to 88.84%. Analysis of the product showed that the procyanidin was not changed during the processing and the procyanidin microcapsule membrane was uninterrupted and with fairly good integrity. The stability of the products was also obviously improved. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

High‐pressure high‐temperature extraction of phenolic compounds from grape skins

This study focused on the use of a non‐conventional extraction technology by employing high‐pressure high‐temperature stirred reactor to extract polyphenols from grape skins. Extraction time (15–330 min) and temperature (30–150 °C) were selected as independent variables, and their effects were studied. A preliminary kinetic study on polyphenols extraction revealed that the second‐order model fitted satisfactorily the experimental results (R² ≥ 0.9798). Total polyphenol yield and total flavonoid (TF) yield, as well as the antiradical power (ARP) of the extracts, were analysed. The use of high‐pressure high‐temperature technology resulted in obtaining extracts rich in polyphenols with high ARP. The highest total polyphenol (60.7 mg_GAE ) and TF (15.1 mg_CE ) yields were obtained at 150 °C for 270 min and 150 °C for 15 min, respectively. HPLC was employed to analyse phenolic compounds. Considerable quantities of single phenolic compounds were extracted. The highest yields of gallic acid, 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural, protocatechuic acid, catechin, vanillic acid, syringic acid, cumaric acid, trans‐resveratrol and quercetin (163.2, 20.0, 69.9, 420.0, 20.6, 603.0, 20.1, 42.4 and 117.1 mg per 100 g_DS, respectively) were found. ARP values were found between 8.45 and 52.17 μg_DPPH .     

Ultrasound‐assisted extraction of corn carotenoids in ethanol

The effect of ultrasonic‐assisted extraction of carotenoids from corn with a 1:6 ratio of maize meal to ethanol (g g^?1) was studied, and the extractive structure was analysed by FTIR. The results showed that at 12 min, the extraction concentration of carotenoids with ultrasound assistance was 3.6 times higher than that without ultrasound assistance. And the concentration of carotenoids obtained from using ultrasound assistance for 30 min was much higher than highest concentration of carotenoids obtained through magnetic stirring in 300 min. After studying multiple variables, the extraction concentration of carotenoids was higher using 700–900 W power, in 20 kHz frequency and at 38–40 °C than that in other conditions. The activation energy of the extraction process was 44.61 KJ mol^?1. In addition, to achieve the best efficiency, the horn had to be placed deeper at the beginning of extraction and then raised at the 12 min point to 4.70 cm from the bottom of the beaker. By using FTIR analysis, we concluded that the structures of the corn carotenoids were not destroyed by ultrasound assistance.     

A short‐cut DNA extraction from cod caviar

Caviars represent the most consumed form of fish roe products. Due to high demand, ingredient roes of fish are often susceptible to illegal substitution with those of related fish. This study developed a simple and inexpensive protocol enabling the rapid extraction of DNA of acceptable quality and amount to PCR amplification from both cod caviars and their ingredient pollack roes. The protocol was based on extracting total genomic DNA from eggs using urea and a Chelex 100 chelating resin, and could be completed in less than 15 min. Approximately 8 µg of DNA were reproducibly obtained from single eggs of cod caviars and pollack roes in eight individual experiments, and the quality and amount of DNA were sufficient to serve as template for hundreds of PCR reactions of polymorphic DNA markers for phylogenetic analysis. Being applicable to various caviars, this protocol can be useful to detect illegal substitution among ingredient roes of related fishes in PCR‐based food inspection. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Enzyme‐assisted solvent extraction for extraction of blueberry anthocyanins and separation using resin adsorption combined with extraction technologies

Blueberry anthocyanins are the major active ingredients of blueberry with a variety of biological activities. The scale extraction and separation of blueberry anthocyanins could contribute to their application in drugs, cosmetics, food additives and so on. In this study, using combined technologies to high‐efficient extraction and separation of blueberry anthocyanins was developed. Under the optimum extraction conditions of first 0.3% cellulose and pectinase with 2:1 (m/m) at 37 °C for 4 h and then 1% citric acid‐acidified 75% (v/v) ethanol at 37 °C for 6 h, as high as 25% extraction rate of blueberry anthocyanins was obtained. By ethyl acetate extraction in triplicate and then D101 resin column chromatography, up to 49.6% purity of blueberry anthocyanins was obtained based on UV–vis analysis. The scale‐up extraction and separation of blueberry anthocyanins were carried out. This method was simple but effective, and easy scalable at industrial purpose.     

Ultrasound‐assisted extraction of quercetin from onion solid wastes

The extraction of quercetin with aqueous ethanol solutions from onion solid waste under sonication conditions was investigated using rational experimental design methodologies. It was found that the ethanol concentration (40–80%, v/v) and the temperature (40–60 °C) of extraction are the most influential parameters in the recovery yield, whereas pH (2–6), liquid/solid ratio (30–60 mL g^?1) and extraction time (15–35 min) do not significantly influence the completeness of the extraction. The optimal extraction conditions were determined to be an ethanol percentage of 59% and extraction temperature of 49 °C, yielding a total quercetin content of 11.08 mg per g dry weight of onion solid waste. An empirical relationship between extraction parameters and the extraction yield was suggested and verified.     

Microwave‐assisted extraction of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside from flaxseed hull

Microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) from defatted flaxseed hull (DFH) was studied. The effects of pre‐soaking methods and extraction parameters (ethanol concentration (0–100%, v/v), microwave energy input (50–390 W), liquid to solid ratio (5:1 to 40:1, mL g^?1) and irradiation time (10–330 s)) on the SDG yield were investigated. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimise the MAE conditions as irradiation time 90.5 s, ethanol concentration 40.9% (v/v), liquid to solid ratio 21.9:1 (mL g^?1) and microwave power 130 W. The SDG recovery from DFH with MAE was 11.7 g SECO kg^?1 DFH (on dry‐weight basis), which was significantly higher than that of stirring extraction (10.0 g SECO kg^?1 DFH) and Soxhlet extraction (7.60 g SECO kg^?1 DFH). Compared with stirring extraction and Soxhlet extraction, MAE showed its superiority in improving SDG yield and saving time and energy. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Determination of flavour compounds in beer using stir‐bar sorptive extraction and solid‐phase microextraction

The analysis of volatile compounds in beer is important for quality control in the brewing industry. In this study, stir‐bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) and solid‐phase microextraction (SPME), two solvent‐less enrichment techniques, were applied in combination with gas chromatography flame ionization detection (GC/FID) for the determination of four flavour compounds (isoamyl acetate, ethyl hexanoate, benzaldehyde, myrcene) in beer. Limits of detection, linearity and repeatability of both methods were determined using standard ethanol solutions, while accuracy was determined by conducting recovery tests on commercial beer samples. Both methods were characterized by high linearity (r > 0.996) and repeatability (RSD = 1.76–10.66%). When both methods were compared, higher recoveries were obtained by SBSE, with limits of detection 1.8–2.8 times lower compared with SPME. In the analysis of commercial beer samples using both methods, SBSE analysis resulted in higher recoveries, therefore demonstrating promise for the analysis of beer volatiles. Copyright © 2015 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Pulsed electric field‐assisted extraction of valuable compounds from microorganisms

Microorganisms (bacteria, yeast, and microalgae) are a promising resource for products of high value such as nutrients, pigments, and enzymes. The majority of these compounds of interest remain inside the cell, thus making it necessary to extract and purify them before use. This review presents the challenges and opportunities in the production of these compounds, the microbial structure and the location of target compounds in the cells, the different procedures proposed for improving extraction of these compounds, and pulsed electric field (PEF)‐assisted extraction as alternative to these procedures. PEF is a nonthermal technology that produces a precise action on the cytoplasmic membrane improving the selective release of intracellular compounds while avoiding undesirable consequences of heating on the characteristics and purity of the extracts. PEF pretreatment with low energetic requirements allows for high extraction yields. However, PEF parameters should be tailored to each microbial cell, according to their structure, size, and other factors affecting efficiency. Furthermore, the recent discovery of the triggering effect of enzymatic activity during cell incubation after electroporation opens up the possibility of new implementations of PEF for the recovery of compounds that are bounded or assembled in structures. Similarly, PEF parameters and suspension storage conditions need to be optimized to reach the desired effect. PEF can be applied in continuous flow and is adaptable to industrial equipment, making it feasible for scale‐up to large processing capacities.     

Temperature effects on type I pepsin‐solubilised collagen extraction from silver‐line grunt skin and its in vitro fibril self‐assembly

BACKGROUND: Fish skin is a potential source of collagen. Increasing the extraction temperature increases the yield of collagen. However, it may also result in degradation of the peptide chains, thus damaging the 3D structure of collagen that is vital for its application as a biomaterial. This work investigated the effects of extraction temperature on the yield and characteristics, including fibril self‐assembly, of type I pepsin‐solubilised fish skin collagen. RESULTS: Pepsin‐solubilised collagens were extracted from fresh skin of silver‐line grunt at 4, 10, 20 and 28 °C for 6 h. Extraction at 10 °C gave the highest yield of collagens (439.32 ± 96.43 mg g^?1 fresh skin, dry basis), which were identified as type I and comprised β, α1 and α2 subunits. Extraction at higher temperatures (20 and 28 °C) resulted in the formation of low‐molecular‐weight peptide fragments, thus reducing the yield of the resultant type I collagen. The denaturation temperatures of collagens extracted at 4 and 10 °C, as determined by thermal analysis using differential scanning calorimetry, were 39.5 and 37.5 °C respectively. In vitro fibril self‐assembly of 1 mg mL^?1 collagen solution (pH 6) incubated at 25 °C was only observed with collagens extracted at 4 and 10 °C. The 10 °C collagen not only showed a higher rate of self‐assembly, but its matrix also had a larger fibril diameter of 0.50 ± 0.07 µm (compared with 0.41 ± 0.07 µm for the 4 °C collagen) after 4 h of incubation. CONCLUSION: The results indicated strong effects of extraction temperature on the yield and characteristics of the collagen obtained. Extraction of pepsin‐solubilised collagen from silver‐line grunt skin at 4–10 °C gave a high yield of type I collagen with molecular integrity suitable for tissue‐engineering applications. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry