Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Functional Food Fiber from Canadian Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis L.)

Abstract

Much attention has been recently paid to the design of sustainable processes for the production of functional food additives based on renewable resources. Thus, methods for incorporation of green techniques in treatment of undeveloped biomass, resulting in value-added bioproducts, are in great demand. We focus here on the biological activity and chemical properties of Erigeron canadensis (horseweed) functional food fiber, which can be strongly affected by the extraction procedure employed. In the present contribution, we report on an attempt to introduce a sustainable and energy-efficient ultrasound-assisted extraction process, followed by a multistep purification procedure, resulting in a macromolecular plant-derived anticoagulant agent. The most efficient ultrasound-assisted process was determined by optimization through the response surface methodology I -optimal design (2 4 ). A comparison with the conventional procedure for retrieval of horseweed biomacromolecules revealed that the optimized ultrasound-assisted extraction was more sustainable, with the cumulative energy demand being 38% lower (12.2 MJ), 6.6 times reduced water consumption (3.5 L), and 1.2 times shorter (41 h) total processing time. Moreover, the optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction process-purified food fiber turned out to be a better anticoagulant agent by 57%, compared to a conventional product, and was a more selective indirect inhibitor of the human Xa coagulation factor.

Formulation of Environmentally Safe Graffiti Remover Containing Esterified Plant Oils and Sugar Surfactant

“…The design of experiments (DoE) and quality by design (QbD) approaches based on statistical calculations are usually employed in formulation optimization. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the response surfaces estimated by d -optimal design for dependent variables Y 1 –Y 4 indicated that the quadratic model exhibited the best fit in all cases, which is a typical solution in mixture designs in the literature [ 36 , 39 , 40 , 61 ]. The minor modifications for quadratic fitting were included for the viscosity (Y 1 ) and the runoff speed (Y 3 ) responses by implementing inverse linear regression in order to increase the robustness of the optimization model.…”

“…A randomized reduced quadratic D-optimal design with a coordinate exchange subtype was developed by Design Expert Software (ver. 13.05.0, State-Ease, Inc., Minneapolis, MI, USA) [ 36 , 37 ]. A modified 2 k full factorial d -optimal design (presented in Supplementary Table S4 ) was used to optimize two significant factors, i.e., type of graffiti removal formulation (A) at 20 levels, and the plant oil used in the synthesis of esterified derivatives (B) at three levels ((−1) rapeseed oil; (0) used cooking oil; (+1) sunflower oil).…”

“…The following second-order polynomial equation based on the optimization design model represents the correlation between independent and dependent variables [ 36 ]: Y 1 , Y 2 , Y 3 or Y 4 = β 0 + β 1 A + β 2 B + β 1,2 AB + β 1,1 A 2 + β 2,2 B 2 where Y 1 –Y 4 are the dependent variables and A and B are independent variables, respectively; β 0 is an intercept term, β 1 and β 2 are linear coefficient, and β 1,2 is an interaction coefficient, while β 1,1 and β 2,2 are the quadratic coefficients.…”

“…The R 2 coefficient was used to evaluate the quality of the optimization design model fitting to the experimental results. Finally, in order to determine the optimal formulation and the desirability of the eco-friendly graffiti remover and to explain the correlation between factors, the obtained polynomial equations for the Y 1 –Y 4 response factors were presented in the form of a 3D response surface and X,Y plots [ 36 , 37 ].…”

“…If a product that did not have the most desired characteristics, the optimization of the multi-component mixture composition was elaborated upon. A variety of design models, such as full or fractional factorial models, as well as central composite or optimal group designs might be used in formulating an optimal graffiti remover [ 36 , 37 ]. In the current contribution, the d -optimal design method was used in order to determine the relation between formulation composition and its functional characteristics.…”