Optimization of heat-assisted extraction of bioactive compounds from Thymus vulgaris L.
Artigo de Conferência
Visão geral
Pesquisas
Informação adicional documento
Ver Todos
Visão geral
resumo
Aromatic and medicinal plants have been used worldwide since ancient times, for being
attributed to them capable bioactive properties associated mainly with the relevant composition of several phytochemicals, including polyphenols [1]. Thymus vulgaris L. is a species described as a potential source of natural ingredients with application in the food industry, but also in the cosmetic and therapeutic industry due to its antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory effects [2]. In this sense, the present study aimed to optimize the extraction of phenolic compounds from T. vulgaris through the heat-assisted technique (HAE), aiming at its potential for exploration in industry. For this propose, three independent variables, time (t, minutes), temperature (T, ºC) and solvent (S, % of ethanol) were combined in a five-level central composite rotatable design coupled with the response surface methodology (RSM). The extraction yield and the content of phenolic compounds identified by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MS were the experimental responses used in the optimization. The polynomial models were successfully fitted to the experimental data and used to determine the optimal HAE conditions.
Nineteen phenolic compounds were identified, nine of which were identified as phenolic acids (mainly caffeic acid derivatives), ten as flavonoids: flavan-3-ols (catechin derivatives),
flavones (quercetin derivatives), flavonols (apigenin and luteolin derivatives) and flavanones
(eriodictyol derivatives). The conditions that appear to be optimal for the extraction of phenolic compounds and that allowed the experimental validation of the predictive model are 3% solution ethanol: water (v/v) for 89 minutes at a temperature of 98º C. The optimization of extraction is important from an industrial point of view, as it allows obtaining extracts with a high content of bioactive compounds from natural matrices, in this case, T. vulgaris leaves.
Considering that the phenolic composition appears in literature as a direct influence on
bioactive properties, optimization processes allows a better exploitation of extracts, ensuring the greatest economic reduction for industries.
