Proceedings of International Congress on Bioactive Compounds and International Workshop on Bioactive Compounds
Proceedings of 2nd International Congress on Bioactive Compounds

Brazil has a wide variety of plant resources, and the Amazon is responsible for much of this biodiversity. Many plant species stand out for presenting numerous components of interest, highlighting the presence of bioactive compounds with health-beneficial properties. Among these species is cumaru (Dipteryx odorata A.). This plant, native to the Amazon region, is a legume of the Fabaceae family, which contains bioactive compounds with important pharmacological characteristics and can be used in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis, cough, abdominal pain, rheumatism, and other diseases. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is a technique known to accelerate the extraction process through low-frequency waves resulting in cavitations, which enhance the penetration of the solvent into the cell walls of the vegetal matrix, allowing more efficient recoveries of target compounds from a wide variety of plant matrices. This work aimed to recover phenolic compounds from the seeds of cumaru (Dipteryx odorata) by UAE. Cumaru seeds were degreased with supercritical CO2 at 350 Bar and 40 °C for 3 h. Then, the degreased seeds were subjected to UAE with a high-power probe. The UAE solvent was a mixture of ethanol and water (70%, w/w). The ultrasonic frequency was fixed at 20 kHz, and the powers were 20, 40, and 60% of the equipment capacity (160, 320, and 480 W, respectively). Extractions were performed with times of 2, 6, and 10 min. The overall extraction yield was calculated as the mass ratio between extracted solute and raw material used, and the total phenolic content (TPC) was determined using the Folin-Ciocalteu method. The best results were overall yield of 22.87% and TPC of 6.64 mg GAE/g, obtained at 480 W for 10 min. The results showed that the increase in ultrasonic power positively affected the overall extraction yield, with an increase between 160 and 320 W. However, no significant differences were observed above 320 W. The same behavior was observed for time, since the yield increased with extraction time, remaining constant after 6 min. Regarding TPC, significant differences were observed between all power levels regardless of extraction time. The use of ultrasound power influences the
extraction positively due to the cavitation phenomenon, which enhances the diffusion of the target compounds and intensifies the release of the solute from the matrix to the solvent. UAE with 480 W for 2 min was chosen as the best extraction condition to increase the extraction yield and reduce energy consumption. This work showed that UAE is an emerging technique capable of recovering phenolic compounds from cumaru seeds in a short time with reduced solvent and energy consumption.