High Voltage Electrical Discharges, Pulsed Electric Field, and Ultrasound Assisted Extraction of Protein and Phenolic Compounds from Olive Kernel

The study was aimed at improvement of recovery of intracellular valuable compounds from olive kernels (Olea europaea). High voltage electrical discharges (HVED), pulsed electric field (PEF), and ultrasound (US) were applied as pretreatments before extraction. The influence of HVED energy input (0–109 kJ/kg), pH (2.5–12), and ethanol (0–50 %) on the efficiency of the extraction was studied. The extracts obtained immediately after pretreatments were analyzed for total phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, proteins, and pigments. HVED treatment was demonstrated to be more effective than ultrasound and pulsed electric field in terms of energy input and effective treatment time to extract phenolic compounds and proteins. Moreover, the application of HVED increased significantly the aqueous and hydro-ethanolic extractions of total phenolic content (TPC), and proteins of the recovered extracts when energy input was augmented. pH and ethanol percentage had also a significant influence in TPC, protein, and antioxidant recovery. The interesting observation is that pH 2.5 resulted in the optimum conditions to recover TPC and antioxidant capacity. However, the higher protein content was found when pH 12 was used. Multiple response optimization showed that TPC, content of proteins, and antioxidant capacity (Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) values) of the sample were further maximized after HVED pretreatment at energy input 66 kJ/kg at pH 2.5 followed by extraction in 49 % ethanol. TPC, content of proteins, TEAC, and DPPH values under such conditions of extraction were 626.6 mg GAE/L, 0.225 mg/mL, 9.80 mM TE, and 7.61 mM TE, respectively.