A Sustainable Approach to Passion Fruit Waste Utilization: Statistical Optimization of Ultrasonic Extraction of Polyphenols
摘要
Passiflora edulis, commonly known as passion fruit, is a rich source of natural antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals having good nutraceutical and medicinal value. Passion fruit juice is the only edible part of the fruit used by beverage industries. The remaining parts of the fruit, which include the rind and seeds, contain up to 60% of its total weight, which is thrown after the juice extraction. However, these seeds and rind are considered the most valuable components of the Passiflora edulis, comprising important bioactive phytochemicals. This work intended to add value to these materials by extracting these components from the Passiflora edulis rinds in an eco-friendly way. An effective extraction method, i.e., ultrasound extraction, was used to ensure the efficient recovery of bioactive compounds. RSM was used to systematically optimize variables, including temperature, sonication time, solid-to-liquid ratio, and solvent concentration, which is crucial in achieving a favorable yield. The optimized parameters were: temperature 54.44 °C, sonication time 29.52 min, solid-to-liquid ratio 24.69 mL/g, and solvent concentration 64.95%, yielded the highest phenolic and flavonoid compounds, indicating that the UAE has the potential to be a useful and sustainable method of repurposing agro-industrial wastes.