A process to preserve valuable compounds and acquire essential oils from pomelo flavedo using a microwave irradiation treatment.
A microwave pretreatment method was developed to preserve pectin, naringin, and limonin contents in pomelo flavedo to allow for longer storage times and subsequent extraction of pomelo essential oil. In terms of the essential oil, microwave pretreatment performed better than hydrodistillation with respect to extraction efficiency (1.88±0.06% in 24min versus 1.91±0.08% in 240min), oxygenation fraction (48.59±1.32% versus 29.63±1.02%), energy consumption (0.15kWh versus 1.54kWh), and environmental impact (123.20g CO2versus 1232g CO2). Microwave-pretreated samples retained higher amounts of pectin, naringin, and limonin compared with non-pretreated samples. No obvious change in the degree of pectin esterification was observed. This study shows that the proposed process is a promising methodology for both preserving valuable compounds in pomelo flavedo during storage and acquiring essential oils.
Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 150040 Harbin, China; State Engineering Laboratory for Bioresource Eco-Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, 150040 Harbin, China.
Zaizhi
Z
Liu
Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 150040 Harbin, China; State Engineering Laboratory for Bioresource Eco-Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, 150040 Harbin, China.
Yuangang
Y
Zu
Key Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, 150040 Harbin, China; State Engineering Laboratory for Bioresource Eco-Utilization, Northeast Forestry University, 150040 Harbin, China. Electronic address: ylliunefu@163.com.
Lei
L
Yang
D002957:Citrus / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects; D057168:Distillation; D044950:Flavanones / Q000032:analysis; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D036701:Limonins / Q000032:analysis; D008872:Microwaves; D009822:Oils, Volatile / Q000032:analysis*
D044950:Flavanones; D036701:Limonins; D009822:Oils, Volatile; C001546:limonin; C005274:naringin
Essential oil; Limonin; Microwave pretreatment; Naringin; Pectin; Pomelo