Pulsed Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction as an Alternative Method to Conventional Maceration for the Extraction of the Polyphenolic Fraction of Ribes nigrum Buds: A New Category of Food Supplements Proposed by The FINNOVER Project

In this research, for the first time, an alternative method to produce Ribes nigrum bud derivatives is presented. Pulsed ultrasound-assisted extraction (PUAE), using a food-grade solvent according to green chemistry principles, has been employed and compared to the conventional extraction method. Traditionally, bud derivatives, a category of botanicals marketed as plant food supplements in the European Community, are produced by macerating meristematic tissues of trees and plants mainly spontaneously collected. Buds are a challenging raw material for the UAE, since meristematic tissues are much softer and fragile than their corresponding adult phenological stage. It is therefore important to assess whether the polyphenolic fraction, very susceptible to degradation, is conserved after UAE. Untargeted polyphenolic fingerprints (UV-Visible and fluorescence) coupled with chemometrics are employed to quickly screen the best extraction conditions, evaluated by the design of experiment (DoE) method. The polyphenolic fraction of the optimized PUAE extract was quantified by targeted HPLC fingerprint and its antiradical activity was determined. PUAE on a lab pilot reactor was proven to be the most practical approach for a rapid (20 min vs. 21 days maceration) and efficient extraction of bioactive polyphenolics from Ribes nigrum buds, encouraging the scale up to an industrial plan.

New Extraction Technologies for Syringa Vulgaris (Oleaceae) Meristematic Extracts

The use of meristematic tissues for the production of health-related extracts (meristemotherapy) is coded by the european pharmacopoeia. However, traditional macerated glycerol requires long production times, based on classical extraction by diffusion. The use of a Dynamic Extraction Accelerator (Naviglio� Extractor) allowed for extraction in significantly faster (6 h) times compared to the conventional ones for the preparation of a macerated glycerol (21 days). The quantitative results of extracting Syringa vulgaris meristematic tissues were measured in terms of the amount of total extracted polyphenols and total extracted flavonoids. The biological activity related to the inhibition of the pancreatic lipase enzyme was compared and, as expected, looking phytochemical composition, the extract IC50 in Naviglio� Extractor was significantly lower than that of macerated glycerol.

Germination Potential of Jute, Kenaf and Mesta to Chromium Toxicity

The study was carried out using seven varieties of jute, two varieties of kenaf and one variety of mesta to evaluate their germination potential to chromium (Cr) toxicity. Percent germination and primary growth parameters of these varieties in Cr contaminated medium were observed. Six levels (0, 20, 40, 80, 120 and 160 mg Cr L-1) of Cr were applied in artificial germinating medium following CRD with three replication. All the jute, kenaf and mesta varieties showed decreasing trend of germination with increasing levels of Cr. Germination of kenaf (HC-95 and HC-3), mesta (Samu-93) and jute (CVE-3 and BJC-7370) were satisfactory levels up to 160 mgCr L-1. The root and shoot lengths and fresh and dry weights also reduced with increased concentrations of Cr as the toxic effect of Cr retards the growth of meristematic tissues of young roots and shoots. Morphological deformities like twisting, curling of leaves and shoot and rottening of roots appeared at high concentrations of Cr. Due to receiving higher concentrations of Cr the color of the roots became dark brown to black. The potentiality of the varieties to Cr toxicity were kenaf HC-95 > kenaf HC-3 > mesta Samu-93 > jute CVE-3 and > jute BJC- 7370. The findings of the present study can be applied for sowing kenaf, mesta and jute seeds in Cr contaminated soil.J. Environ. Sci. & Natural Resources, 8(1): 51-57 2015