Introduction: By-products coming from pomegranate juice processing represent both a challenging disposal problem and a promising source of nutraceuticals. In particular, the marcs obtained after juice squeezing, usually discarded or rarely sent to oil productions, such as the residues of endocarp and arils are proven to still be a good source of polyphenolics still worth being considered/valorized. Methods: Pulsed Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction1 (PUAE), using water as solvent, has been employed to extract the water-soluble bioactive molecules. Spray drying encapsulation has been performed to formulate the extracts. The extracts capacity in inhibition platelets aggregation has been tested ex-vivo in human platelets. Apple wedges were “enriched” with the formulated extracts by vacuum impregnation. Results: The extracts obtained from pomegranate marcs have low sugar content (1° Brix), low acidity (less than 0.05 % citric acid) and some hundreds of milligrams of hydrolysable tannins (equal to 1/3-1/4 respect to the corresponding juices, but better than well-known “superfoods”, i.e. grape juice, green tea). However, their total phenolic content (TPC) are not stable over time even at -20°C. Spray-dried formulation of the extracts, using low methoxyl pectin as polymeric matrix, allows their stabilization (with an encapsulation efficiency about 40-50%) and their capacity in inhibition platelets aggregation (about 60% vs thrombin), tested ex vivo on human platelets, has been maintained. Vacuum impregnation2 has been employed to “enrich” apple wedges with the micro-encapsulated extracts in order to design a model food, whose color stability has been monitored by diffuse reflectance spectrometry3. Conclusions: The proposed environmentally sustainable strategy could represent a recycling opportunity for the pomegranate marcs remaining after arils squeezing in alternative to composting or disposal. The microencapsulated extracts obtained by PUAE and formulated by spray-drying represent a novel ingredient with potential health benefits recovered from agro-industrial waste.
A recycling proposal for pomegranate marcs obtained after juice squeezing
Dario Donno;Gabriele Loris Beccaro;
2018-01-01
Abstract
Introduction: By-products coming from pomegranate juice processing represent both a challenging disposal problem and a promising source of nutraceuticals. In particular, the marcs obtained after juice squeezing, usually discarded or rarely sent to oil productions, such as the residues of endocarp and arils are proven to still be a good source of polyphenolics still worth being considered/valorized. Methods: Pulsed Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction1 (PUAE), using water as solvent, has been employed to extract the water-soluble bioactive molecules. Spray drying encapsulation has been performed to formulate the extracts. The extracts capacity in inhibition platelets aggregation has been tested ex-vivo in human platelets. Apple wedges were “enriched” with the formulated extracts by vacuum impregnation. Results: The extracts obtained from pomegranate marcs have low sugar content (1° Brix), low acidity (less than 0.05 % citric acid) and some hundreds of milligrams of hydrolysable tannins (equal to 1/3-1/4 respect to the corresponding juices, but better than well-known “superfoods”, i.e. grape juice, green tea). However, their total phenolic content (TPC) are not stable over time even at -20°C. Spray-dried formulation of the extracts, using low methoxyl pectin as polymeric matrix, allows their stabilization (with an encapsulation efficiency about 40-50%) and their capacity in inhibition platelets aggregation (about 60% vs thrombin), tested ex vivo on human platelets, has been maintained. Vacuum impregnation2 has been employed to “enrich” apple wedges with the micro-encapsulated extracts in order to design a model food, whose color stability has been monitored by diffuse reflectance spectrometry3. Conclusions: The proposed environmentally sustainable strategy could represent a recycling opportunity for the pomegranate marcs remaining after arils squeezing in alternative to composting or disposal. The microencapsulated extracts obtained by PUAE and formulated by spray-drying represent a novel ingredient with potential health benefits recovered from agro-industrial waste.
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