Optimization of the Parameters Influencing the Antioxidant Activity and Concentration of Carotenoids Extracted from Pumpkin Peel Using a Central Composite Design
Roxana Nicoleta Gavril (Rațu),
Oana Emilia Constantin,
Elena Enachi,
Florina Stoica,
Florin Daniel Lipșa,
Nicoleta Stănciuc,
Iuliana Aprodu,
Gabriela Râpeanu
Affiliations
Roxana Nicoleta Gavril (Rațu)
Department of Food Technologies, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Oana Emilia Constantin
Department of Food Science, Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunărea de Jos University of Galati, 800201 Galați, Romania
Elena Enachi
Department of Food Science, Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunărea de Jos University of Galati, 800201 Galați, Romania
Florina Stoica
Department of Pedotechnics, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Florin Daniel Lipșa
Department of Food Technologies, Faculty of Agriculture, “Ion Ionescu de la Brad” University of Life Sciences, 3 Mihail Sadoveanu Alley, 700489 Iasi, Romania
Nicoleta Stănciuc
Department of Food Science, Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunărea de Jos University of Galati, 800201 Galați, Romania
Iuliana Aprodu
Department of Food Science, Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunărea de Jos University of Galati, 800201 Galați, Romania
Gabriela Râpeanu
Department of Food Science, Food Engineering, Biotechnology and Aquaculture, Faculty of Food Science and Engineering, Dunărea de Jos University of Galati, 800201 Galați, Romania
It has been discovered that the peel of a pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima), regarded as a waste product of pumpkin processing, has significant amounts of carotenoids and other antioxidants. This study aims to identify the most effective extraction parameters for an ultrasonic-assisted extraction method to extract the total carotenoids (TCs) and assess the antioxidant activity (AA) of pumpkin peel. To determine the effects of the extraction time, temperature, and material-to-solvent ratio on the recovery of TCs and AA, a response surface methodology utilizing the central composite design (CCD) was used. The extraction temperature (6.25–98.75 °C), extraction duration (13.98–128.98 min), and solvent ratio (0.23–50.23 mL) were the variables studied in the coded form of the experimental plan. The carotenoid concentration varied from 0.53 to 1.06 mg/g DW, while the AA varied from 0.34 to 7.28 µM TE/g DW. The findings indicated that the optimal extraction parameters were an 80 °C temperature, a 10 mL solvent ratio, and a 100 min extraction time. The study confirmed that the optimum extraction conditions resulted in an experimental TC yield of 0.97 mg/g DW and an AA of 7.25 µM TE/g DW. Overall, it should be emphasized that the extraction process can be enhanced by setting the operating factors to maximize the model responses.
