Utilizing Novel Technologies for Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Mandarine Juice Production Waste

Mandarine peels are waste from fruit juice production and, as such, have a low price and high potential to be further processed using novel food processing technologies such as high hydrostatic pressure or high – intensity ultrasonics. Environmentally friendly and low-cost raw materials and technologies are forcing the industry to develop new methods to guarantee the sustainability of the food chain. From this perspective, food waste made in the fruit juice industry is of great interest since the research shows that the peel contains a high concentration of bioactive compounds. Those compounds could be extracted and further used in food or pharma industry. The primary objective of this research was extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide and comparison of obtained results with other extraction techniques such as conventional extraction and extraction with high-intensity ultrasound.

Results show that the ultrasound-assisted extraction of mandarine peels have significant benefits over classic extraction and extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide. Observing total polyphenols values there is significant increase (0.1 mg GAE/g for SCO2, 1.82 for conventional and 2.32 using ultrasonics). DPPH of ultrasonically obtained extracts was also significantly higher (7.48 mM Trolox/g compared to conventional extracts 5.66 mM). Using ultrasound in this setting can ensure efficient reuse of waste from fruit and vegetable products for the production of bioactive compounds.