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Pressurized fluid extraction of bioactive compounds from peanut by-products to promote waste recovery and circular economy

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Abstract

This work is based on the development and optimization of a pressurized liquid extraction method to obtain extracts from peanut shells with the highest possible amount/number of bioactive compounds, mainly flavonoids, with senolytic activity and antioxidant capacity. To achieve optimal extraction conditions, a design of experiments approach was employed to perform a limited and relatively reduced number of experiments. The extracts were consecutively analyzed by methods adapted to the peanut shell matrix to determine antioxidant capacity, total flavonoids, and total phenolic compounds. Additionally, a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection method was developed and validated to quantify individual phenolic compounds, with confirmation provided by mass spectrometry. Moreover, amino acid profiling was performed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Finally, the optimized extraction conditions and analytical methods were applied to analyze six commercial peanut shell samples. The results indicate that the optimized pressurized liquid extraction method using ethanol effectively extracts substantial amounts of bioactive compounds, especially flavonoids, which have broad applications across different industries. This contributes to a strategic valorization approach that promotes a Circular Economy.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during the current study are included in this published article, or they are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

AA:

Amino acid

ABTS:

2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)

Ala:

Alanine

Asn:

Asparagine

Asp:

Aspartic acid

BBD:

Box-Behnken design

DAD:

Diode array detector

DoE:

Design of experiments

DPPH:

2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl

ESI:

Electrospray ionization

FA:

Formic acid

GABA:

γ-Amino-n-butyric acid

GAC:

Green analytical chemistry

GC:

Gas chromatography

Gln:

Glutamine

Glu:

Glutamic acid

Gly:

Glycine

His:

Histidine

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

Hyp:

Hydroxyproline

Ile:

Isoleucine

Leu:

Leucine

LOD:

Limit of detection

LOQ:

Limit of quantification

Lys:

Lysine

Met:

Methionine

MS:

Mass spectrometry

Orn:

Ornithine

Phe:

Phenylalanine

PLE:

Pressurized liquid extraction

Pro:

Proline

PS:

Peanut shells

RSM:

Response surface methodology

S/N:

Signal-to-noise ratio

Ser:

Serine

SS:

System suitability requirements

TFC:

Total flavonoid content

Thr:

Threonine

TPC:

Total phenolic compound

Trolox:

6-Hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid

Trp:

Tryptophan

Tyr:

Tyrosine

Val:

Valine

WAC:

White analytical chemistry

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Acknowledgements

Beatriz Martín-Gómez thanks the Spanish Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports for her FPU grant (FPU22/02334).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Analytical Chemistry Group (TESEA), Faculty of Sciences, I. U. CINQUIMA, University of Valladolid, 47011, Valladolid, Spain

    Clara Schumann, Beatriz Martín-Gómez, Ana Jano, Ana M. Ares & José Bernal

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  1. Clara Schumann
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  2. Beatriz Martín-Gómez
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  3. Ana Jano
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  4. Ana M. Ares
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  5. José Bernal
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Contributions

Clara Schumann: investigation, methodology, validation, visualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. Beatriz Martín-Gómez: conceptualization, methodology; writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. AnaJano: conceptualization, visualization, writing—review and editing. Ana M. Ares: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, supervision, validation, visualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing. José Bernal: conceptualization, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, visualization, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing.

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Correspondence to José Bernal.

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Published in the topical collection featuring Sustainability in Sample Preparation with guest editors Soledad Cárdenas and Pablo Richter.

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Schumann, C., Martín-Gómez, B., Jano, A. et al. Pressurized fluid extraction of bioactive compounds from peanut by-products to promote waste recovery and circular economy. Anal Bioanal Chem (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-025-05839-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-025-05839-7

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