Valorization of granadilla waste (Passiflora ligularis, Juss.) by sequential green extraction processes based on pressurized fluids to obtain bioactive compounds

The development of food waste biorefineries based on clean technologies applied to recover value-added bioactive compounds has been triggered by the need to reduce food waste to mitigate its effects on climate change. This work aimed to develop a sequential extraction process from granadilla seeds in two stages, following the biorefinery approach, using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) to recover an oil rich in poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in a first stage; and phenolic compounds-rich extract from the defatted seeds in a second stage using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE). In the first stage, the optimized SFE at 20 MPa and 40 degrees C yielded 24.84% of a PUFA-rich oil. In the second stage, by comparing PLE with UAE, the results demonstrated that PLE performed at 70 degrees C and 10 MPa with the 75% EtOH was more efficient than UAE to recover phenolic compounds from granadilla seeds.

Automated summary

The development of food waste biorefineries based on clean technologies aims to reduce food waste and its impact on climate change. This study developed a sequential extraction process using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) to recover valuable compounds from granadilla seeds. The optimized SFE conditions yielded a PUFA-rich oil, while PLE at 70°C and 10 MPa with 75% EtOH was more efficient in extracting phenolic compounds from the defatted seeds compared to ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE).