Optimisation of ultrasound extraction for flavonoids from semen astragali complanati and its identification by HPLC-DAD-MS/MS

Sustainable strategies for using natural extracts in smart food packaging

The growing demand for sustainable and eco-friendly food packaging has prompted research on innovative solutions to environmental and consumer health issues. To enhance the properties of smart packaging, the incorporation of bioactive compounds derived from various natural sources has attracted considerable interest because of their functional properties, including antioxidant and antimicrobial effects. However, extracting these compounds from natural sources poses challenges because of their complex chemical structures and low concentrations. Traditional extraction methods are often environmentally harmful, expensive and time-consuming. Thus, green extraction techniques have emerged as promising alternatives, offering sustainable and eco-friendly approaches that minimise the use of hazardous solvents and reduce environmental impact. This review explores cutting-edge research on the green extraction of bioactive compounds and their incorporation into smart packaging systems in the last 10 years. Then, an overview of bioactive compounds, green extraction techniques, integrated techniques, green extraction solvents and their application in smart packaging was provided, and the impact of bioactive compounds incorporated in smart packaging on the shelf lives of food products was explored. Furthermore, it highlights the challenges and opportunities within this field and presents recommendations for future research, aiming to contribute to the advancement of sustainable and efficient smart packaging solutions.

Optimization of a New Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Method of Caffeic Acid from the Aerial Parts of Coriandrum sativum by Using Experimental Design and Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is among the most widely used medicinal and aromatic plants. It is well known for its multiple health benefits, most of which are correlated with its phenolic composition. Four phenolic compounds were identified in the extracts of aerial parts of coriander extracts, including caffeic acid, isoquercitrin, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, and rutin. Caffeic acid was the major compound in the extracts. A Box–Behnken Design (BBD) was employed in conjunction with the response surface methodology (RSM) to develop an ultrasound-assisted extraction method for the determination of phenolic compounds in the aerial parts of coriander using the level of caffeic acid as the target response. The following working variables were evaluated: methanol level in the extraction solvent, temperature, sonication time, and liquid-to-solvent ratio. It was found that the methanol concentration is the most significant factor that influences the recovery of caffeic acid. The optimal extraction conditions were: 10 min as the extraction time, 70 °C as the temperature, 50% for methanol in water as the solvent, and 6.51 mL of solvent per gram of sample. The repeatability and reproducibility were calculated and RSD values below 6% were obtained in both cases. The new method was employed for the extraction of real coriander samples and it is suggested that this method could potentially be applied for quality control analyses.

Optimization of extraction and quantification of Flavonoids from Averrhoa bilimbi fruits using RP-HPLC and its correlation between total flavonoids content against antimicrobial activity

The present study was conducted to evaluate Averrhoa bilimbi fruits flavonoids extraction and quantification analysis through RP-HPLC and its comparison study on total flavonoids concentration versus antimicrobial activity analysis based on minimum inhibitory concentrations. Optimization of extraction was carried out using three different methods; among all methods the ultrasonic conventional assistant extraction (UCAE) showed an excellent recovery of flavonoids with solid phase elution. UCAE was performed with ethanol using different solvents ratio, the total flavonoid content was quantified through spectrophotometrically (850 ± 25 mg/kg) and flavonoids (myricetin and luteolin) were quantified by RP-HPLC. Optimized yield of myricetin and luteolin were presented in A. bilimbi fruits 336 ± 15 and 231 ± 18 mg/kg, respectively. Antimicrobial activity examined against E. coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis species using spectroscopically. The extracted sample with known quantity of total flavonoids content (10-200 µg/mL) used against E. coli, S. aureus and B. subtilis, MIC results shows 55.6 ± 6, 31 ± 3 and 28 ± 2 µg/mL respectively. Higher flavonoid content plays major role on antioxidant activities, which were evaluated and compared with commercial antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) employing superoxide anion scavenging activity and total reducing power IC₅₀ value results shows 100 and 175 µg/mL, respectively. The maximum yield of flavonoid content results shows method suitability of flavonoids extraction and quantification.

Conventional and Emerging Extraction Processes of Flavonoids

Flavonoids are a group of plant constituents called phenolic compounds and correspond to the nonenergy part of the human diet. Flavonoids are found in vegetables, seeds, fruits, and beverages such as wine and beer. Over 7000 flavonoids have been identified and they have been considered substances with a beneficial action on human health, particularly of multiple positive effects because of their antioxidant and free radical scavenging action. Although several studies indicate that some flavonoids have provident actions, they occur only at high doses, confirming in most investigations the existence of anti-inflammatory effects, antiviral or anti-allergic, and their protective role against cardiovascular disease, cancer, and various pathologies. Flavonoids are generally removed by chemical methods using solvents and traditional processes, which besides being expensive, involve long periods of time and affect the bioactivity of such compounds. Recently, efforts to develop biotechnological strategies to reduce or eliminate the use of toxic solvents have been reported, reducing processing time and maintaining the bioactivity of the compounds. In this paper, we review, analyze, and discuss methodologies for biotechnological recovery/extraction of flavonoids from agro-industrial residues, describing the advances and challenges in the topic.

Optimization of ultrasound parameters and its effect on the properties of the activity of beta-glucosidase in apricot kernels

In this paper, ultrasound was used as an auxiliary tool to activate the activity of beta-glucosidase (beta-GC) in apricot kernels, and its parameters were optimized to evaluate the effects on the beta-GC activity with the response surface methodology (RSM), variables including ultrasonic time, temperature, power and frequency. The results indicate that the obtained quadratic regression model could simulate the actual conditions, and the optimum conditions were as follows: exposure time of 31 min, temperature 50 °C, power 225 W and frequency 28 kHz, and the activity of beta-GC achieved 3.64 × 105 U/g·apricot kernel (dry weight), having an increase of 34.67% compared to the untreated beta-GC. In addition, the changes of the beta-GC properties demonstrated that ultrasound did improve the activity of beta-GC by influencing the beta-GC's properties of fluorescence, circular dichroism, thermal property, etc. All these results would contribute to understand the mechanism of the rapid debitterizing of apricot kernels accelerated by ultrasound.

Ultrasonic Treatment Increases Extraction Rate of Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Antioxidants

The feasibility of improving the extraction rate of common bean antioxidants by ultrasonic treatment was investigated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and spectrum Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer (FT-IR) analysis revealed that ultrasonic treatment substantially altered the cellular structure of common bean seed, resulting in increased surface area, eroded cell walls, and greater exposure of cellulose and hemicellulose. The highest antioxidant activity was obtained at optimal extraction conditions (68 min, 55% acetone, 36:1 liquid to solid ratio, 30 ℃, and 480 W) which were optimized by response surface methodology. In terms of the extraction rate of common bean antioxidants, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) exhibits about seven-fold higher extraction efficiency than conventional solvent extraction (CSE). In addition, 10 phenolic compounds in the common bean extracts were detected and quantified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), including protocatechuic acid, catechin, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin, ferulic acid, coumarin, rutin, myricetin, cinnamic acid, and genistein. In summary, ultrasonic treatment is an ideal candidate methodology for improving the extraction rate of common bean antioxidants.

Identification of bioactives from Astragalus chinensis L.f. and their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-proliferative effects

This work was designed to obtain the valuable compounds with antioxidant, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities from Astragalus chinensis. Ethyl acetate fraction obtained from A. chinensis L.f. had significant antioxidant, anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory activities. Subsequently, five single compounds were separated and purified, which were identified as formononetin (1), rhamnocitrin (2), calycosin (3), β-daucosterol (4), rhamnocitrin-3-O-β-d-glucoside (5). The results displayed that formononetin and rhamnocitrin exhibited significant cytotoxicity actions against tumor cell lines. Calycosin exerted the strongest anti-inflammatory effect of inhibition effects on NO production in macrophages.

Chemical Analysis of Astragali Complanati Semen and Its Hypocholesterolemic Effect Using Serum Metabolomics Based on Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

The hypocholesterolemic protective effect of the dried seed of Astragalus complanatus (ACS) was investigated in rats fed with normal diet, high cholesterol diet (HCD), and HCD plus 70% ethanol extract of ACS (600 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage for four weeks. ACS extract was tested to be rich in antioxidants, which may be contributed to its high content of phenolic compounds. Consumption of ACS remarkably suppressed the elevated total cholesterol (p < 0.01) and LDL-C (p < 0.001) induced by HCD. Chemical constituents of ACS extract were analyzed by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization orbitrap mass spectrometry and the results showed that the ACS extract mainly consisted of phenolic compounds including flavonoids and flavonoid glycosides. In addition, based on the serum fatty acid profiles, elucidated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, free and esterified fatty acids including docosapentaenoic acid, adrenic acid, dihomo-γ-linolenic acid and arachidonic acid were regulated in ACS treatment group. Western blot results further indicated the protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) (p < 0.05) in liver was upregulated in ACS treatment group. To conclude, our results clearly demonstrated that ACS provides beneficial effect on lowering HCD associated detrimental change.

Quantification of complanatoside A in rat plasma using LC-MS/MS and its application to a pharmacokinetic study

Complanatoside A is a flavonol glycoside isolated from Astragalus complanatus, and currently it is used as a quality control index for A. complanatus in the 2010 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia. For the first time, a simple and sensitive LC-MS/MS method was developed for the determination of complanatoside A in rat plasma over the range of 2.3-575 ng/mL. Complanatoside A was extracted from plasma by a protein precipitation procedure, separated by LC and detected by MS/MS in positive electrospray ionization mode. The method was validated for selectivity, carryover, sensitivity, linearity, extraction recovery, matrix effect, accuracy, precision and stability studies. The lower limit of quantification was established at 2.3 ng/mL. Intra- and inter-day precisions (LLOQ, low-QC, med-QC and high-QC) were <7.9%, and accuracies were between 94.0 and 105.1%. Matrix effect was acceptable (97.9-103.0%) and extraction recovery was reproducible (88.5-94.4%). Complanatoside A was stable in the investigated conditions. The method was applied to the pharmacokinetics of complanatoside A in rats. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Changes of gallic acid mediated by ultrasound in a model extraction solution

Ultrasound has been widely used as a new kind of auxiliary extraction technique in food industry, but its effect cannot be ignored on the potential degradation of the extracted target compound. In this paper, a model extraction solution was constructed with the standard gallic acid as target compound to be extracted, and its change was monitored by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) under different ultrasonic extraction conditions, namely, solvent types, extractant concentrations, extraction time, extraction temperature, ultrasound power and frequency, in order to understand the effect of ultrasound on the extract during ultrasonic extraction and provide an objective evaluation of ultrasonic extraction of polyphenols. The results indicate that ultrasonic parameters had definite effect on the degradation of gallic acid during ultrasonic extraction, which implies that the extraction yield should not be over-focused in actual extraction applications of ultrasound, more attention should be paid to the potential degradation of the extracted target compound induced by ultrasound.