A Green and Innovative Waste Valorization Approach for Extraction of Flavonoids from Grapefruit Peels by Microwave-Assisted Pressurized CO2-H2O Extraction

Özbek H. N., Armağan H. S., Özel M. Z., KOÇAK YANIK D., Fahrettin G.

Plants, cilt.14, sa.22, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 14 Sayı: 22
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.3390/plants14223410
  • Dergi Adı: Plants
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: extraction, flavonoids, microwave, pressurized CO2, waste
  • Eskişehir Osmangazi Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Grapefruit is rich in flavanones, particularly naringin and narirutin. This study investigated the effects of temperature, time, and solid-to-liquid ratio on microwave-assisted pressurized CO2–H2O (MWP-CO2-H2O) extraction of flavonoids from grapefruit and optimized the parameters for maximum total flavonoid content (TFC) using response surface methodology. Independent variable ranges were 110–160 °C, 4.00–14.00 min, and 1:10.00–1:40.00 g/mL. Optimum conditions were 128 °C, 13.88 min, and 1:31.35 g/mL, yielding a TFC of 27.96 ± 1.29 mg naringin equivalent/g dry weight. Under these conditions, extraction yield, total phenolic content, ferric reducing ability of plasma, cupric reducing antioxidant capacity, and DPPH IC50 were 55.17 ± 1.90% (dry basis), 25.42 ± 1.39 mg gallic acid equivalent/g, 39.16 ± 1.61 µmol trolox equivalent/g, 81.64 ± 0.29 µmol trolox equivalent/g, and 1.60 ± 0.01 mg/mL, respectively. Compared to conventional extraction (CE), MWP-CO2-H2O produced higher TFC, phenolic content, and antioxidant activity, while reducing extraction time by 13.68-fold. These results highlight grapefruit peel waste as a sustainable source of bioactive compounds and demonstrate that MWP-CO2-H2O is an environmentally sustainable, efficient alternative to conventional methods.