The Characterization of Borututu (Cochlospermum angolense welw) Flower Extracts Obtained by Pressurized Liquid

Abstract

medicinal plants are known as natural sources and can explore the various parts (fruit, seed, flower, leaf, stem, root) as nutrients (vitamins, minerals, proteins and fibers) necessary for the correct maintenance of health, which can be used for therapeutic purposes; and/or ingredients in food production, medicines as promising alternatives. The Borututu plant (Cochlospermum angolense welw) is an indigenous tree from Angola, and has great potential as a source of bioactive extracts. Only the root has been used as an infusion by populations in the treatment of malaria due to its hepatoprotective effects. In recent decades, other extraction techniques have been studied with the aim of developing processes to obtain functional extracts from plant matrices. Among the alternatives linked to new technologies, the application of the Pressurized Liquid Extraction Technique (PLE), as an efficient and ecological technique compared to conventional solid-liquid extraction processes, was applied in this study to obtain bioactive extracts from flowers of the borututu plant.
Different green/ecological solvents (water, ethanol and ethyl acetate) were evaluated at different extraction temperatures (50-200ºC), in short extraction times (10 minutes). The extracts produced were chemically characterized by colorimetric techniques. The PLE technique allowed high extraction yields to be obtained with less solvent consumption in short periods and with extracts with a high content of phenolic compounds and high antioxidant capacity, surpassing extracts obtained by the traditional method (infusion). This technique allowed ethanol extracts to be obtained at 200°C, generating a high concentration of total phenolic compounds (TPC) and a high yield of 16.27% and 34.26mg/g, respectively. The highest antioxidant capacity was 2029 µmol/g, obtained with water at 150°C. It is concluded that flower extracts demonstrated potential for the production of functional ingredients on an industrial scale.