Vacuum Microwave-Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Polyphenolic Compounds from Avocado (Persea Americana) Solid Waste

The extraction efficacy of avocado fruit peels (AP) and seeds (AS) with the use of vacuum microwave-assisted aqueous extraction (VMAAE) was optimized in this study, with regard to extract’s total phenolic content (TPC), maximum antioxidant activity and minimal operational cost. Temperature (79.64 and 78.11 °C for AP and 43.90 and 45.26 °C for AS), time (11.89 and 11.75 min for AP, 10.18 and 10.28 min for AS), ratio of water to raw material (16.45% and 10.02% for AP, 38.73% and 37.65% for AS) and microwave power (5708.04 and 5699.10 W for AP, 5549.08 and 4797.29 W for AS) were estimated statistically as the optimal conditions in order to achieve high rates of extracts with high TPC and antioxidant activity using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH●) scavenging radical methods, respectively. VMAAE performed under these conditions resulted in received extracts with TPC (0.352 gallic acid equivalent-GAE/g fresh AP/min and 0.124 GAE/g fresh AS/min). Furthermore, it was calculated the DPPH● radical scavenging activity was equal to 100 mg/L expressed in L of 0.104 L/min for AP and 0.045 L/min for AS. The results of our study may give a promising solution to avocado processing companies for further utilization of their waste.