Green valorization of Chaenomelis Fructus agro-industrial by-products as a source of phenolics: Ultrasound-assisted extraction, adsorptive enrichment and quality control

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a green and efficient strategy for the recovery of bioactive phenolics from agro-industrial by-products (AIBPs) derived from Chaenomelis Fructus (CF). The peel of Chaenomelis Fructus (CFP) has a higher phenolic content compared to its leaves and seeds. The ultrasound-assisted extraction process for CFP total phenolics (CFPTP) was optimized using response surface methodology, achieving a yield of 216.27 ± 1.04 mg/g. ADS-17 resin exhibited higher adsorption-desorption capacity for CFPTP and was selected as the optimal resin. Studies on adsorption behavior confirmed adherence to pseudo-second order and Langmuir models, characterized by exothermicity, spontaneity, and entropy reduction. A chromatography enrichment process employing ADS-17 resin yielded a CFPTP-rich extract with a purity of 84.22 ± 1.57 %. Additionally, a UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS method was developed to simultaneously measure eight main phenolic compounds in CFPTP extracts. This study contributes to the transformation of CF AIBPs into valuable products rich in phenolics.

Keywords: Adsorptive enrichment; Chaenomelis Fructus; Phenolics; UPLC-QqQ-MS/MS; Ultrasound-assisted extraction.