High-intensity ultrasound-assisted recovery of anthocyanins from jabuticaba by-products using green solvents: Effects of ultrasound intensity and solvent composition on the extraction of phenolic compounds

This study proposes an update for the jabuticaba processing chain to obtain valuable coproducts from jabuticaba peels. High-intensity ultrasound (HIUS) technology was evaluated as a more efficient extraction process to obtain two high added-value coproducts: pectin and an anthocyanins-rich extract. The HIUS-assisted extraction of bioactive compounds like anthocyanins from the jabuticaba peels was evaluated. The effects of ultrasound intensity (1.1, 3.7, 7.3, and 13.0 W/cm²) and solvent composition concerning water/ethanol ratio (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 g water/100 g) were examined. One-step HIUS processing promoted the best recovery of bioactive compounds at an ultrasound intensity of 3.7 W/cm² and 50 g water/100 g, thus proofing the interaction between ultrasound intensity and the solvent composition has a strong influence on the extraction efficiency of the groups of compounds studied and in the jabuticaba peel antioxidant potential. The confocal laser scanning microscopy confirmed bioactive compounds' exhaustion in the dried jabuticaba peel after the HIUS processing, proving its best recovery. The jabuticaba peel extract exhibited an intense reddish color typical of anthocyanin-rich products at acid pH (4.5). The HIUS technology turned out a promising way to recover these valuable phenolic compounds as a quick, relatively inexpensive, and simple technology that improves the yields and decreases the costs and environmental impacts compared to conventional extraction processes.