Abstract
The current study aimed to compare the influence of hydroethanolic treatment and enzymatic hydrolysis on the antioxidant activity of cashew apple bagasse extracts. A three-level Box-Behnken experimental design was applied to optimize the operational parameters. Hydrolysis parameters, including enzyme concentration (10 %, 15 % and 20 % respect to dry matter), solvent/sample ratio (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1) and sample granulometry were investigated. Hydroalcoholic extraction parameters were pH (3.0; 4.5 and 6.0), solvent/sample ratio (1:1, 2:1 and 3:1) and ethanol concentration (30 %, 50 % and 70 %). Based in preliminary hydrolysis data, the commercial cellulase Celluclast® 1.5 L (Novozymes) was selected. The antioxidant activity of cashew apple bagasse extracts were evaluated by ABTS·+ radicals method. Total phenolic content (TPC) was also determined using a Folin-Ciocalteu assay. Statistical results showed that the solvent/sample ratio was the only factor which influenced the antioxidant activity improvement, for both treatments. However, even when ABTS·+ quantification was higher, the TPC did not increase so expressively. This suggests that the availability of phenolic compounds were low, but the ones which were released from the cashew bagasse cell walls presented a meaningful antioxidant capacity.
