Different Strategies to Obtain Corn (Zea mays L.) Germ Extracts with Enhanced Antioxidant Properties

Maize ( Zea mays L.) germs are by-products from the milling industry. The objective of this work was to compare the phenolic and lipophilic antioxidant fractions of yellow and white corn varieties, provided by Corn Valley S.r.l. (Piumbega, Mantova, Italy) and among the raw materials most processed by the company. The phenolic fraction, extracted with ultrasound-assisted extraction, alone and in combination with chemical and enzymatic hydrolyses, was analyzed with high-performance thin-layer chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector. Among the various extraction techniques used, the combination of sonication and alkaline hydrolysis proved to be an effective method for the extraction of phenolic compounds from yellow and white germs, with the highest ferulic acid concentrations (636.54 ± 3.71 and 569.23 ± 1.69 mg FA/g dried extract, respectively), total phenolic contents (844.5 ± 64.6 and 742.8 ± 15.44 mg gallic acid equivalents/g dried extract, respectively), and the best antioxidant activity (14.33 ± 0.48 and 11.41 ± 1.1 µg/mL, respectively). The lipophilic fraction, extracted using supercritical carbon dioxide was analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The unsaponifiable fractions were found to be 2.41% ± 0.24% in yellow corn and 1.85% ± 0.08% in white corn; β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol were identified as the main phytosterols characterizing both lipophilic extracts which showed the most effective antioxidant activity (1.29 ± 0.26 mg/mL and 1.33 ± 0.21 mg/mL, respectively) compared with the control. Finally, the phenolic and lipophilic extracts obtained from maize by-products may be reintroduced into the health-oriented market as extracts enriched of high-added value biomolecules with antioxidant activity both as active molecules and as additives of natural origin

polyphenols from vitis vinifera lambrusco by products leaves from pruning extraction parameters evaluation through design of experiment

Vitis vinifera L. leaves from pruning are by-products of the wine industry and represent an important source of secondary raw material, thanks to their polyphenols content. Optimization of the extraction processes is a key factor for their valorization, and Design of Experiment (DOE) could be a tool to obtain the most performing extract in terms of polyphenols quality/quantity and bioactivity. Vitis vinifera Lambrusco leaves were subjected to ultrasound-assisted extractions guided by a 23 factorial design. Three independent parameters (% solvent, time of extraction, and solvent:solid ratio) were considered to evaluate the extraction process by analyzing the extraction yield, the total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu assay), and the antioxidant capacity (DPPH assay). Moreover, the content of the main molecules was identified and quantified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection and mass spectrometry. The DOE highlighted the best extraction conditions that showed slight changes considering the different evaluating parameters. The highest extraction yield was obtained by extraction with 100% water, 60 minutes of extraction time, and 30:1 solvent:solid ratio, but it was neither the richest in polyphenols nor antioxidant capacity. The latter 2 characteristics were associated with the extraction performed using 50% ethanol, 35 minutes of extraction time, and a 20:1 solvent:solid ratio. That extract also exhibited the highest quantity of flavonols

Cereal by-products as source of bioactive molecules for cosmetic applications: a sustainable approach based on eco-pharmacognostic research

Il presente progetto di dottorato di ricerca ha l'obiettivo di valorizzare i sottoprodotti cerealicoli, attraverso lo sviluppo di processi estrattivi green e di ipotesi applicative nell'industria cosmetica. Per il presente progetto sono stati inizialmente selezionati i cereali con il massimo interesse applicativo: grano duro, riso e mais. Gli acidi fenolici sono stati estratti con estrazione assistita tramite ultrasuoni, idrolisi alcalina, idrolisi enzimatica e tecniche ibride per massimizzare le rese estrattive e minimizzare l'impatto ambientale rispetto ad altre tecniche convenzionali. Gli estratti sono stati analizzati in termini qualitativi, in particolare nel caso di estratti idrolizzati, con HPTLC e RP-HPLC-DAD e successivamente è stato quantificato il contenuto di acidi fenolici e fenoli totali. L'attività antiossidante degli estratti è stata saggiata con metodi bioautografici, spettrofotometrici e di PCL. Gli estratti più promettenti sono stati testati su tre ceppi di Staphylococcus aureus e un isolato clinico di S. epidermidis per calcolare la concentrazione minima inibitoria. Tra le varie tecniche utilizzate per l'estrazione fenolica, le idrolisi chimiche sono risultate più efficaci di quelle enzimatiche, in particolare abbinando ad esse la sonicazione. Infatti, nonostante la riduzione del tempo di estrazione, questa tecnica ha permesso di ottenere estratti fenolici arricchiti di qualità superiore rispetto a quelli ottenuti con metodi convenzionali. L'influenza delle onde sonore si è verificata in particolare nel caso del germe di mais giallo il cui contenuto di acido ferulico è aumentato da 461,89±8,70 a 636,53±3,71 mg FA/g accoppiando sonicazione ad idrolisi alcalina. Lo stesso estratto ha mostrato anche il più alto contenuto fenolico totale (844,46±64,60 mg GAE/g di estratto secco). I risultati dell'attività antiossidante hanno confermato l'effettivo contributo degli ultrasuoni nel processo di estrazione sia con il saggio bioautografico che con test spettrofotometrici. Tra tutti gli estratti, la crusca di grano ha mostrato la massima attività (IC50 di 3,61±0,09 µg/mL con sonicazione) paragonabile a quella del Trolox e la maggiore differenza tra i due metodi di idrolisi alcalina. I risultati più interessanti dell'attività antimicrobica sono stati quelli relativi al ceppo MRSA trattato con estratti di crusche di grano e riso i quali hanno ottenuto le MIC più basse (16 µg/mL e 32 µg/mL). I composti insaponificabili sono stati estratti con CO2 supercritica, confrontando due metodi di letteratura. Questi sono stati analizzati con HPTLC come screening per l'efficacia estrattiva e con GC-MS per studiare il contenuto insaponificabile degli estratti. L'attività antiossidante è stata valutata anche per gli estratti lipofili con gli stessi metodi descritti precedentemente. Il germe di mais giallo ha ottenuto le rese più elevate in percentuale (19,98±1,24 %). La frazione insaponificabile più elevata è stata riscontrata nel riso (6,08±0,04 %), seguita dal grano, dal mais giallo e infine da quello bianco. Dall'analisi GC-MS, il β-Sitosterolo è risultato il composto principale di tutti gli estratti, presente negli estratti di grano e riso circa per il 30% e in entrambi gli estratti di mais circa al 60%. Gli estratti di mais giallo e bianco hanno mostrato una maggiore attività antiossidante rispetto ai controlli utilizzati di olio extravergine di oliva. Infine, sono state formulate quattro emulsioni O/A per uso cosmetico con l’estratto di crusca di grano ottenuto con idrolisi alcalina associata ad ultrasuoni e di mais giallo SFE. I prodotti cosmetici sono quindi stati testati per la loro attività antiossidante con analisi PCL. In questo progetto abbiamo ipotizzato un'applicazione cosmetica degli estratti inseriti come attivi ma l’utilizzo degli estratti eccipienti di origine naturale potrebbero essere oggetto di ricerche future.The present PhD project aims at valorizing cereal by-products through the development of green extraction processes for a possible application in the cosmetic industry. For this project the cereals with the highest application interest were initially selected: durum wheat, rice and maize. Phenolic acids were extracted by assisted extraction using ultrasound, alkaline hydrolysis, enzymatic hydrolysis and hybrid techniques to maximize extraction yields and minimize environmental impact, compared to other conventional techniques. The extracts were analyzed in qualitative terms, in particular in the case of hydrolyzed extracts, with HPTLC and RP-HPLC-DAD and then the content of phenolic acids and total phenols was quantified. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was tested with bioautographic, spectrophotometric and PCL methods. The most promising extracts were tested on three strains of Staphylococcus aureus and a clinical isolate of S. epidermidis to calculate the minimum inhibitory concentration.Among the various techniques used for phenolic extraction, chemical hydrolysis proved to be more effective than enzymatic hydrolysis, in particular by combining them with sonication. In fact, despite the reduction of the extraction time, this technique has allowed to obtain enriched phenolic extracts of higher quality than those obtained with conventional methods. The influence of sound waves occurred in particular in the case of yellow maize germ whose ferulic acid content increased from 461.89±8.70 to 636.53±3.71 mg FA/g by combining sonication with alkaline hydrolysis. The same extract also showed the highest total phenolic content (844.46±64.60 mg GAE/g dry extract). The results of the antioxidant activity confirmed the effective contribution of ultrasound in the extraction process with both bioautographic and spectrophotometric tests. Of all the extracts, wheat bran showed the highest activity (IC50 of 3.61±0.09 µg/mL with sonication) comparable to that of Trolox and the greatest difference between the two alkaline hydrolysis methods. The most interesting results of the antimicrobial activity were those related to the MRSA strain treated with wheat and rice bran extracts which obtained the lowest MICs (16 µg/mL and 32 µg/mL). The unsaponifiable compounds were extracted with supercritical CO2, comparing two literature methods. These were analyzed with HPTLC as screening for extractive efficacy and with GC-MS to study the unsaponifiable content of the extracts. Antioxidant activity was also evaluated for lipophilic extracts with the same methods described above. Yellow maize germ obtained the highest percentage yields (19.98±1.24 %). The highest unsaponifiable fraction was found in rice (6.08±0.04 %), followed by wheat, yellow maize and finally white maize. From the GC-MS analysis, β-Sitosterol was found to be the main compound of all the extracts, present in wheat and rice extracts about 30 % and in both maize extracts about 60 %. The yellow and white maize extracts showed a higher antioxidant activity than the controls used for extra virgin olive oil. Finally, four O/A emulsions were formulated for cosmetic use with wheat bran extract obtained by alkaline hydrolysis associated with ultrasound and SFE yellow corn extracts. The cosmetic products were then tested for their antioxidant activity with PCL analysis. In this project we have hypothesized a cosmetic application of the extracts inserted as active ingredients but the use of the extracts as excipients of natural origin could be the subject of future research

Secondary Bioactive Metabolites from Plant-Derived Food Byproducts through Ecopharmacognostic Approaches: A Bound Phenolic Case Study

The climate emergency and the risks to biodiversity that the planet is facing nowadays, has made the management of food resources increasingly complex but potentially interesting. According to FAO, one-third of the edible parts of food produced throughout the whole food supply chain gets lost or wasted globally every year. At the same time, demographic growth makes it necessary to change course toward sustainable economic development in order to satisfy market demands. The European Union supported the idea of a Circular Economy from 2015 and arranged annual Action Plans toward a greener, climate-neutral economy. Following the biorefinery concept, food waste becomes byproducts that can be recovered and exploited as high added-value materials for industrial applications. The use of sustainable extraction processes to manage food byproducts is a task that research has to support through the development of low environmental impact strategies. This review, therefore, aims to take stock of the possibilities of extracting molecules from food waste biomass following ecopharmacognostic approaches inspired by green chemistry guidelines. In particular, the use of innovative hybrid techniques to maximize yields and minimize the environmental impact of processes is reviewed, with a focus on bound phenolic extractions

Antioxidant and antimicrobial extracts obtained from agricultural by-products: Strategies for a sustainable recovery and future perspectives

Durum wheat and rice brans are by-products deriving from the milling industry and source of important phytochemicals, mostly phenolics in bound form. The objectives of this work were to evaluate the most effective method for the extraction of phenolic acids from these by-products with antioxidant and antimicrobial activity and to standardize the obtained extracts to encourage their commercialization in health field. Free phenolics were extracted with ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and bound phenolics with alkaline hydrolysis (AH) and ultrasound-assisted alkaline hydrolysis (UAAH). Extracts were analyzed with HPTLC (high-performance thin-layer chromatography) and RPHPLC-DAD-ESIMS (reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry); the content of trans-ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, total phenolics were also quantified. The antioxidant activity was investigated using DPPH and ABTS methods. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains. Results obtained using UAAH showed the most interesting data, suggesting this method as the most effective to obtain active extracts from the by-products. Durum wheat, extracted with UAAH, exhibited the highest content of trans-ferulic acid (406.14 ± 0.65 μg FA/mg extract), total phenolics (610.58 ± 57.60 mg GAE/g dried extract) and good antioxidant and antimicrobial activities and it has been selected to formulate oil-in-water cosmetic products

Chemical characterisation, antioxidant and antimicrobial screening for the revaluation of wine supply chain by-products oriented to circular economy

Aim of the project was the bioassay guided optimisation of extraction methods applied to wine chain by-product to obtain extracts, fractions and biologically active biomolecules with a possible use in the nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industry. Exhausted red and white grape marc were extracted using water:ethanol 50:50 with ultrasound assisted extraction and Naviglio® technology; and also with supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and steam-distillation obtaining different phytocomplexes. Each extract was characterised by different molecular category: exhausted red grape marc (VCR) by anthocyanins, exhausted white grape marc (VCB) by flavonoids, and grapeseed (VIN) by proanthocyanins. SFE and steam-distillation, instead, highlighted the presence of fatty acids and their ester in every matrix, but terpenoids were not revealed at level major or equal than 0.1%, except for manoyl oxide in VCR (2.89%). VIN was the most abundant matrix in polyphenols (506.24 ± 55.91 mg gallic acid/g dried extract), and it showed the highest antioxidant activity (IC50 of 4.30 μg/mL). Regarding the antimicrobial activity, the hydroalcoholic extracts from VCR, VCB and VIN were tested but no noteworthy activities have been recorded

Sottoprodotti agroalimentari ed economia circolare: una sinergia efficiente? L’esempio del progetto BIOFACE

Il progetto BIOFACE, acronimo del progetto intitolato “Biomolecole dalla valorizzazione integrata di sottoprodotti agroalimentari per applicazioni sostenibili con finalit  Fitosanitarie, alimentari, ed energetiche” - Programma di Sviluppo Rurale PSR 2014-2020 Op. 16.1.01 - GO PEI-Agri - FA 5C dell’Emilia RomagnaUn importante e interessante esempio di come l’economia circolare, che tende a valorizzare i sottoprodotti della filiera agroalimentare, possa realizzarsi con un progetto che coinvolge e unisce in maniera trasversale le forze e le competenze delle industrie, delle istituzioni e dell’Università

BIiodiversity within Wild Hyssopus Officinalis Subsp. Aristatus (GODR.) Nyman from Abruzzo Region

Abstract not availabl

Economia circolare: non solo geometrie La valorizzazione sostenibile degli scarti della filiera vitivinicola

La valorizzazione delle materie prime secondarie è oggi per l’industria un’occasione per incrementare la propria competitività convertendo i costi di smaltimento in nuove strategie di profitto, creando nuovi prodotti e favorendo l’occupazione di personale specializzato alla gestione dei nuovi processi produttivi. Le nuove politiche europee di governo sostenibile delle produzioni potrebbero così diventare strumento propulsivo di benessere sociale e contribuire al miglioramento della salubrità ambientale e alla conservazione e difesa della biodiversità