Sustainable valorization of yellow nectarine peel through green extraction technologies: Recovery of bioactive compounds and storage stability assessment

Abstract

Yellow nectarine (Prunus persica L.) belongs to the Rosaceae family and is found in tropical and subtropical regions of Asia. The current investigation focused on the recovery of bioactive compounds from yellow nectarine peel using various green and other solvents, along with different drying techniques, such as freeze, vacuum, and hot-air oven, and energy-assisted extraction techniques, viz. ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), and ultrasound-coupled microwave-assisted extraction (UMAE). The combined technique, viz. ChCl: lactic acid + freeze-drying + UMAE, produced the highest TPC and TFC, which were 2389.0 ± 35.8ᵃ mg GAE/100 g dry weight (DW) and 896.0 ± 19.6ᵃ mg QE/100 g DW, respectively, followed by other solvents. Antioxidant activities using FRAP values ranged from 8830.7 ± 218.7 to 11833.0 ± 195.6 µmol TE/100 g DW, whereas ABTS varied from 12412.0 ± 190.0ᶠ to 15819.7 ± 183.7ᵃ µmol TE/100 g DW, followed by DPPH. Experimental results revealed that UMAE with ChCl solvent yielded the highest antioxidant recovery across all drying treatments, followed by MAE, UAE, and conventional extraction techniques using NADES and other solvents, reaching EYs of 31.2%. Storage stability of peel extracts was evaluated at different temperatures, with low-temperature storage significantly improving total phenolics and antioxidant levels, whereas higher temperatures and light exposure accelerated degradation. This study offers a fresh perspective on maximizing the bioactive potential of yellow nectarine peel, bolstering its use as a functional food, nutraceutical, and cosmetic component.