Accelerated Solvent Extraction of Antioxidant Compounds from Gardeniae Fructus and Its Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitory and PC12 Cell Protective Activities

Gardeniae fructus is a common neuroprotective medicinal food in China, however the extraction efficiency and mixture activities are rarely mentioned. In this study, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) parameters were optimized by a response surface methodology to extract antioxidants from Gardeniae fructus. Neuroprotective activity was evaluated using H2O2 and amyloid-β25–35 peptide-treated PC12 cells. By comparing with three other extract methods (i.e., heated refluxing extraction (HRE), ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE)), it was found that the yield (35.10%), total iridoids (27.69%), total flavonoid (6.12%) content, antioxidant activities (IC50 on DPPH, 164.46 µg/mL; FRAP value 4703.54 μmol/L), and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory ability (IC50 92.58 µg/mL) of ASE extract under the optimal condition (150 °C temperature, 10 min static time, 60% ethanol, 2 extract cycles) were significantly higher than other extract methods. The strongest ability to protect PC12 cells from damage was also present in ASE extract, as evidenced by decreasing lactate dehydrogenase and malondialdehyde levels, elevating superoxide dismutase and glutathioneperoxidase activities. Compositional analysis indicated that the extremely high crocetin level in ASE extract (1.30 μg/mg) may offer great potential. Our results indicated that ASE is a proper extraction method that could offer great potential for finding the neuroprotective ability of Gardeniae fructus for the treatment of AD.

Role of Extracts Obtained from Rainbow Trout and Sole Side Streams by Accelerated Solvent Extraction and Pulsed Electric Fields on Modulating Bacterial and Anti-Inflammatory Activities

In this study, accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) and pulsed electric field (PEF) were used as innovative approaches to recover extracts from rainbow trout and sole side streams rich in high-added-value compounds. Then, after aseptic filtration, the impact of the obtained extracts on bacterial growth and anti-inflammatory potential was evaluated. Moreover, the protein content and the total antioxidant capacity of the samples were determined. The results showed that some extracts could inhibit the growth of pathogenic bacteria, including the ASE rainbow trout skin and the PEF sole viscera extracts, which showed significant antibacterial activity on Staphylococcus aureus. The PEF sole viscera extract also showed an inhibitory effect on the growth of Salmonella. In addition, some extracts promoted probiotic bacteria growth. For example, the PEF rainbow trout head and skin extracts promoted Lactobacillus casei growth, while the ASE rainbow trout head and skin extracts promoted Bifidobacterium lactis growth. In addition, some samples, such as the ASE rainbow trout viscera and the PEF sole skin extracts had interesting anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, the use of ASE and PEF can be considered as useful strategies to recover antimicrobial, prebiotic and anti-inflammatory extracts from rainbow trout and sole side streams, although it is necessary to evaluate each specific side stream.

Improvement of Carrot Accelerated Solvent Extraction Efficacy Using Experimental Design and Chemometric Techniques

Human studies have demonstrated the multiple health benefits of fruits and vegetables. Due to its high fiber, mineral and antioxidant content, carrot is an ideal source for the development of nutraceuticals or functional ingredients. Current research assesses accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) traits which affect the antioxidant qualities of carrot extract using response surface methodology (RSM), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and the sum of ranking differences (SRD). A mixture of organic solvents, acetone, and ethanol with or without the addition of 20% water was applied. The total carotenoid and polyphenol contents in extracts, as well as their scavenging activity and reducing power, were used as responses for the optimization of ASE extraction. RSM optimization, in the case of 20% water involvement, included 49% of acetone and 31% of ethanol (Opt1), while in the case of pure organic solvents, pure ethanol was the best choice (Opt2). The results of HCA clearly pointed out significant differences between the properties of extracts with or without water. SRD analysis confirmed ethanol to be optimal as well. RSM, HCA, and SRD analysis confirmed the same conclusion—water in the solvent mixture can significantly affect the extraction efficacy, and the optimal solvent for extracting antioxidants from carrot by ASE is pure ethanol.

Potential and Performance of Accelerated Solvent Extraction (ASE) in Obtaining Bioactive Compounds from Bee Propolis: Comparison with Soaking, Ultrasonication, and Microwave-Assisted Methods

Propolis is a natural resinous substance collected by honeybees from buds and exudates of trees. The material has attracted much attention in recent years as a functional food component since it possesses various biological properties, including antimicrobial, antioxidative, and anti-ulcer properties. In this study, the performance of accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) was assessed and compared with varying methods of extraction: soaking (maceration), ultrasonication, and microwave-assisted methods. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and other spectroscopic techniques, such as absorbance and fluorescence, were employed to assess the efficiency in the extraction of natural products. The antioxidant activity and phenolic content of the different extracts were also determined. Results showed samples obtained from the microwave method showed the highest yield in the extraction of bioactive compounds. Although microwave showed the best method in this study, some issues and recommendations on ASE application for extracting natural products from bee propolis were discussed. Given the ease in controlling extraction temperature with ASE, this technique has a great potential to be a better method for extraction of heat-labile natural products from propolis should optimization of conditions for extraction were further performed.

Accelerated Solvent Extraction and Pulsed Electric Fields for Valorization of Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and Sole (Dover sole) By-Products: Protein Content, Molecular Weight Distribution and Antioxidant Potential of the Extracts

Fishery by-products are rich in biologically active substances and the use of green and efficient extraction methods to recover these high-added-value compounds is of particular importance. In this study, head, skin and viscera of rainbow trout and sole were used as the target matrices and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) (45–55 °C, 15 min, pH 5.2–6.8, 103.4 bars) and pulsed electric fields (PEF) (1–3 kV/cm, 123–300 kJ/kg, 15–24 h) were applied as extraction technologies. The results showed that ASE and PEF significantly increased the protein extract efficiency of the fish by-products (p < 0.05) by up to 80%. SDS-PAGE results showed that ASE and PEF treatments changed the molecular size distribution of the protein in the extracts, which was specifically expressed as the change in the area or number of bands between 5 and 250 kDa. The antioxidant capacity of the extracts was evaluated by oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) and total antioxidant capacity (ABTS) assays. The results showed that both ASE and PEF treatments significantly increased the antioxidant capacity of rainbow trout and sole skin and head extracts (p < 0.05). ASE and PEF extraction processes can be used as new technologies to extract high-added-value compounds from fish by-products.

Accelerated Solvent Extraction of Terpenes in Cannabis Coupled With Various Injection Techniques for GC-MS Analysis

The cannabis market is expanding exponentially in the United States. As state-wide legalization increases, so do demands for analytical testing methodologies. One of the main tests conducted on cannabis products is the analysis for terpenes. This research focused on implementation of accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), utilizing surrogate matrix matching, and evaluation of traditional vs. more modern sample introduction techniques for analyzing terpenes via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Introduction techniques included Headspace-Syringe (HS-Syringe), HS-Solid Phase Microextraction Arrow (HS-SPME Arrow), Direct Immersion-SPME Arrow (DI-SPME Arrow), and Liquid Injection-Syringe (LI-Syringe). The LI-Syringe approach was deemed the most straightforward and robust method with terpene working ranges of 0.04–5.12 μg/mL; r2 values of 0.988–0.996 (0.993 average); limit of quantitation values of 0.017–0.129 μg/mL (0.047 average); analytical precisions of 2.58–9.64% RSD (1.56 average); overall ASE-LI-Syringe-GC-MS method precisions of 1.73–14.6% RSD (4.97 average); and % recoveries of 84.6–98.9% (90.2 average) for the 23 terpenes of interest. Sample workflows and results are discussed, with an evaluation of the advantages/limitations of each approach and opportunities for future work.