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Processing of Onion Skin Extracts with Quercetin-Molecularly Imprinted Adsorbents Working at a Wide Range of Water Content

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Abstract

A simple adsorption process allowing a high retention of polyphenols contained in extracts of onion skin with ethanol/water volume ratio going up to 80/20 is described. We show that the straightforward processing of the extracts is possible, even at low water content, by using quercetin-molecularly imprinted (Q-MIP) adsorbents synthesized with 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) as the functional monomer. The favorable interactions between the pyridyl functional groups of 4VP and the polyphenols, as well as the improved binding site accessibility introduced by molecular imprinting, are at the source for the good performance observed with the Q-MIPs. The usefulness of the Q-MIPs in onion skin polyphenols purification, fractionation and concentration is demonstrated with few sorption/desorption steps and considering sonicated, Soxhlet and supercritical CO2 extracts. Polyphenol retention of c.a. 88% is possible with Q-MIPs (7% with non-tailored adsorbents) when directly processing ethanol/water 80/20 extracts. Protocatechuic acid and other very hydrophilic molecules (such as simple sugars) were readily removed from the extracts, leaving fractions containing mostly quercetin and quercetin derivatives. Polyphenol recovery higher than 90% (measured with quercetin) and concentration factors up to 34 times were observed with the Q-MIPs.

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Acknowledgements

This work is a result of project “AIProcMat@N2020—Advanced Industrial Processes and Materials for a Sustainable Northern Region of Portugal 2020”, with the reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000006, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programa (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and of Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006984—Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM funded by ERDF through COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI)—and by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LSRE and Centro de Investigação de Montanha (CIMO), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253, Bragança, Portugal

    C. P. Gomes, V. Franco & Rolando C. S. Dias

  2. LSRE, Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade Do Porto, Rua Roberto Frias s/n, 4200-465, Porto, Portugal

    M. R. P. F. N. Costa

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  1. C. P. Gomes
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  2. V. Franco
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  3. Rolando C. S. Dias
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  4. M. R. P. F. N. Costa
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Correspondence to Rolando C. S. Dias.

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Gomes, C.P., Franco, V., Dias, R.C.S. et al. Processing of Onion Skin Extracts with Quercetin-Molecularly Imprinted Adsorbents Working at a Wide Range of Water Content. Chromatographia 83, 1539–1551 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10337-020-03958-0

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