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Published on: March 30, 2012
Ultra-sonication-assisted solvent extraction of quercetin glycosides from 'Idared' apple peels
H P Vasantha Rupasinghe1, Priya Kathirvel, Gwendolyn M Huber
1Tree Fruit Bio-product Research Program, Department of Environmental Sciences, Nova Scotia Agricultural College, P.O. Box 550, Truro, Nova Scotia, B2N 5E3, Canada. vrupasinghe@nsac.ca
Abstract:
Quercetin and quercetin glycosides are physiologically active flavonol molecules that have been attributed numerous health benefits. Recovery of such molecules from plant matrices depends on a variety of factors including polarity of the extraction solvent. Among the solvents of a wide range of dielectric constants, methanol recovered the most quercetin and its glycosides from dehydrated 'Idared' apple peels. When ultra-sonication was employed to facilitate the extraction, exposure of 15 min of ultrasound wavelengths of dehydrated apple peel powder in 80% to 100% (v/v) methanol in 1:50 (w:v) solid to solvent ratio provided the optimum extraction conditions for quercetin and its glycosides. Acidification of extraction solvent with 0.1% (v/v) or higher concentrations of HCl led to hydrolysis of naturally occurring quercetin glycosides into the aglycone as an extraction artifact.
