Food and Public Health 2015, 5(5): 164-173

DOI: 10.5923/j.fph.20150505.03

Trends for the Application of Passion Fruit Industrial

By-Products: A Review on the Chemical Composition
and Extraction Techniques of Phytochemicals
Juliane Viganó, Julian Martinez*

Department of Food Engineering, College of Food Engineering, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil

Abstract This work presents a review on the composition and extraction techniques for recovering phytochemicals
from passion fruit by-products. The review approaches on the characteristics of each phytochemical and its benefits to
human health. It was observed that the by-products of passion fruit contain a range of interesting substances, and for their
recovery the application of environmentally friendly extraction techniques, such as supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and
pressurized liquid extraction (PLE), are suggested as single or sequential procedures. The future perspectives of this review
encourage the application of these techniques to a complete recovery of passion fruit by-products.
Keywords By-Products, Phytochemicals, Supercritical fluid extraction, Pressurized liquid extraction, Sequential
extraction, Passion fruit

eliminate such limitations, extractions using pressurized

1. Introduction fluids are a good alternative. The extraction techniques that
employ supercritical fluids (SFE – Supercritical Fluid
Researches carried out in the last years have Extraction) or subcritical fluids (PLE - pressurized liquid
demonstrated the growing interest in recovering extraction) show some advantages when compared to
phytochemicals from vegetal matrices. The main goal of conventional extraction techniques. Among these
this recovery is to obtain compounds with biological advantages, the selectivity and low generation of solvent
activities for use in drugs, cosmetics and as additives for waste seem to be the most attractive. However, some
foods. Thus, the present work shows a review on a drawbacks may occur with respect to the solubility of target
particular case. An approach on the phytochemical compounds. In order to overcome this problem and to
compounds contained in the passion fruit industrial increase the extraction efficiency, some authors suggest
by-products and on the emerging techniques to extract such sequential extractions, in which different extraction
compounds is presented. Researches performed with edible techniques are applied to the same raw material.
parts, by-products and aerial parts indicate that passion fruit Few works were found addressing the recovery of
is a rich source of phenolic compounds [1-4], fatty acids [5], bioactive compounds from passion fruit industrial
tocopherols, tocotrienols [6] and carotenoids [7], by-products. In addition, there is no record of works that
compounds of high nutritional value, which are related to have fully used passion fruit by-products through sequential
many health benefits. extraction processes. Taking the mentioned information into
The industrial processing of passion fruit pulp generates a account, this paper has as objective to discuss the reasons
considerable volume of by-products due to the separation of that make the passion fruit by-products an interesting source
rind and bagasse. It is estimated that these materials of phytochemicals and presents trends for their recovery
correspond to 60-70% of the fruit mass [8, 9]. Therefore, using clean and efficient technologies.
the development of techniques designed to use this type of
material can add value and reduce the environmental
impacts of its inappropriate disposal. 2. The Yellow Passion Fruit
Several factors lead to chemical reactions that can The genus Passiflora includes about 500 species. Among
degrade bioactive compounds limiting their use. To them, the specie Passiflora edulis is the most known, being
widely used by the food industry, and used in America and
* Corresponding author:
[email protected] (Julian Martinez)
Europe as a sedative or tranquillizer. This specie, commonly
Published online at http://journal.sapub.org/fph called sour passion fruit or yellow passion fruit, is native
Copyright © 2015 Scientific & Academic Publishing. All Rights Reserved from Brazil, but has also been grown in other continents [3].
 Food and Public Health 2015, 5(5): 164-173 165

The fruits, as shown in Figure 1, are berry type and have the passion fruit seeds are oil and fibers [12]. The oil is used to
seeds involved by the pulp and the fleshy aryl. The rind is produce cosmetics and may be found commercially. Linoleic
composed by epicarp, which corresponds to the external acid is one of the main fatty acids of passion fruit oil (around
layer of green to yellow color, and by the mesocarp, which is 72-73%), followed by oleic acid (13-16%) and palmitic acid
the white internal layer [10]. (8-9%) [5, 6]. For human health, polyunsaturated fatty acids
Brazil is the largest producer and consumer of yellow play important roles in the maintenance of cell membranes,
passion fruit. This specie is produced in 95% of the passion brain function and the transmission of nerve impulses, and
fruit orchards [3]. According to data from the Brazilian the growth and development of the cardiovascular system
Institute of Geography and Statistics – IBGE [11], the [8, 13].
production of this fruit in 2012 reached 776.097 tons. Researches have also pointed that the passion fruit seed is
Brazilian Northeast and Southeast regions are the main a source of other substances, such as precursors of vitamin E
responsible for this production. (tocopherols and tocotrienols). Malacrida and Jorge [6]
identified and quantified three fractions of tocopherols in
passion fruit oil. They reported the following values for the
fractions β-, γ- e δ- tocopherol: 54.0, 166.6 e 278.7 mg/kg oil,
respectively. Vitamin E consists of eight distinct molecules
α-, β-, γ- e δ-tocopherol e α-, β-, γ- e δ-tocotrienol (Table 1),
collectively named as tococromanols and tocols. These
compounds have a chromanol group in one end attached to a
long isoprenoid chain. Depending on the nature of the
isoprenoid chain, a distinction is made between tocopherols
Figure 1. Passion fruit morphology (containing a saturated phytyl chain) or tocotrienols
(unsaturated geranylgeranyl chain) [14].
The cultivation of passion fruit is primarily focused on the
juice and pulp industry, especially due to its more acidic taste Table 1. Chemical structures of tocols
and higher yield [10]. For obtaining the pulp, rind (epicarp
and mesocarp) and bagasse (seed and aryl fleshy) are
separated, resulting in by-products of the passion fruit
processing industry. In most cases, this amount of biomass is
used for animal feed or deposed on orchards to act as
fertilizer. Although in small amounts, the rind has already
been used for the formulation of flour, and the seeds are
destined to the extraction of oil for cosmetics. The use of
these wastes has environmental and economic advantages,
since it prevents the inadequate disposal of biomass in the
environment and can generate income through the
formulation of new products with high added value.
Prefix R1 R2 R3

3. Composition of Passion Fruit α- CH3 CH3 CH3

By-Products β- CH3 H CH3
γ- H CH3 CH3
The interest on the search for natural antioxidants for use
in foods, aiming to decrease the lipid oxidation rate, or for δ- H H CH3
pharmaceutical applications to prevent chronic diseases Source: Drotleff et al. [14]
related to the production of free radicals, has increased in the
recent years. Moreover, results of researches conducted with Numerous benefits for human health have been attributed
passion fruit by-products have been disclosed and show that to this class of compounds. Tocols delay the progress of a
the bagasse and rind are sources of several compounds of series of degenerative diseases, act on the protection against
nutritional importance. cancer and cardiovascular diseases, and have the function of
reducing cholesterol in blood [15-17].
3.1. Bagasse Carotenoids are a extensively studied class of compounds
The passion fruit bagasse, as described previously, is in the passion fruit juice. Nevertheless, works addressing the
composed by fleshy aryl and seeds. Bibliographic data identification and quantification of carotenoids in passion
regarding the composition of the fleshy aryl was not found. fruit oil from seeds were not found. On the other hand,
On the other hand, the seeds have been characterized and Ferreira et al. [18] investigated the total carotenoids of
explored for different purposes. The main components of refined oil, obtained by cold pressing and Soxhlet, and the
166 Juliane Viganóet al.: Trends for the Application of Passion Fruit Industrial By-Products: A
Review on the Chemical Composition and Extraction Techniques of Phytochemicals

reported carotenoid content was 2.3, 4.6 and 19.7 µg/g oil, and resveratrol were 2.2 and 0.1 mg/g of dried seed,
respectively. Carotenoids are known as responsible for many respectively. Sano et al. [21], apart from these two
functional properties as antioxidant activity, prevention of substances, found another phenolic compound known as
cardiovascular disease, cancer, macular degeneration and in Scirpusin B (Figure 2), but the authors quantified only
some cases pro-vitamin A [19]. piceatannol and Scirpusin B, which amounts were 5.7 and
3.6 mg/g of dried seed, respectively. Matsumoto et al. [22]
used Scirpusin B for the evaluation of the coronary
circulation of rats and found that this compound caused the
increase in coronary blood flow via production of nitric
oxide and vasodilating prostanoids. Scirpusin B is implicated
to have beneficial effects on preventing cardiac events and
atherosclerosis by increasing these substances responsible
for vasodilatation.
Table 2 shows a comparison between substances found in
passion fruit seeds and other sources. It can be observed that
the fatty acid profile of passion fruit seeds is similar to that of
seeds of other fruits, such as grape and guava. These three
types of seeds are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Regarding tocols, the presented sources do not resemble in
the concentration. According the presented data, the
carotenoid concentration in passion fruit seeds is lower than
in pequi and buriti oils. However, this same reference
(Ferreira et al. [18]) examined the same oil in terms of
Figure 2. Chemical structure of (a) Scirpusin B, (b) resveratrol and (c)
piceatannol antioxidant activity, and passion fruit seed oil presented was
the most active. This is possibly due to the content of tocols
Recent studies have reported the presence of phenolic or phenolics, which proved to have antioxidant activity. As
compounds in passion fruit seeds. Matsui et al. [20] found can be observed, passion fruit seeds present levels of
piceatannol and resveratrol (Figure 2), and reported that piceatannol and resveratrol comparable to already
piceatannol has positive effect in inhibiting melanogenesis recognized sources of these compounds.
and collagen synthesis. The observed amounts of piceatannol
Table 2. Comparison between the contents of substances of passion fruit seeds with other sources

Peach almond oil Grape seed oil Guava seed oil

Fatty acids (%) Passion fruit seed oil [5]
[23] [24] [25]
Linoleic 73 19 70-74 71
Oleic 16 72 13-17 9
Palmitic 9 6 5-9 10
Linolenic 0,3 0 0.3-0.7 0.5
Tocols (mg/100g Rice bran Grape seed oil
Passion fruit seed oil [6] Guava seed oil [6]
oil) oil [26] [24]
α- / β- / γ- / 0 / 5.4 / 179 / 1 / 19.9 / 0 / 10.7 / 0.3 /
δ-Tocopherol 16.6 / 27.8 55 / 0 6.2 / 0 55 / 0.5
α- / β- / γ- / 96 / 0.7 / 2.6 / 0 /
- -
δ-Tocotrienol 588 / 19 198 / 0
Passion fruit seed oil
Total carotenoids Pequi oil [18] Babaçu oil [18] Buriti oil [18]
[18]
(µg/g oil)
2-20 275 20 693
Phenolic (mg/g Passion fruit seed [20, Rhodomyrtus tomentosa
Grape seed [27]
seed) 21] seed [28]
Piceatannol 2-6 NQ 3-7
Resveratrol 0.1 1.1-3.2 NI
Scirpusin B 3.6 NI NI
NQ – Identified, but not quantified NI – Not identified.
 Food and Public Health 2015, 5(5): 164-173 167

3.2. Rind bacteria. Besides, they contribute to the pigmentation and

control of plant hormones and enzymes [33, 34]. Regarding
The passion fruit rind is composed mainly by human health, flavonoids have sedative properties and play
carbohydrates [29]. Its elevated pectin content has made it a an important protective role against atherosclerosis, brain
source for the extraction of this substance and for the disorders and cancer [33, 35]. Part of the mentioned
formulation of flour. However, research has revealed the functions is due to the antioxidant activity of these
rind as a source of interesting nutrients such as the phenolic compounds. Flavonoids are natural antioxidants that act as
compounds presented on Table 3. reducing agents, hydrogen donors, oxygen neutralizing and
The substances presented on Table 3 are phenolic chelating metals that could initiate or propagate chain
compounds belonging to the class of C-glycosyl flavonoids. reactions [36].
Their molecular structures are characterized by the presence The substances contained in the passion fruit bagasse and
of the flavan group, which comprises fifteen carbon atoms rind represent an opportunity for adding value to these
arranged into three rings, and five radicals, as shown in by-products. Therefore, techniques that allow the separation
Table 4 [33]. of these substances from the vegetable matrix are necessary.
Flavonoids are secondary metabolites that occur widely The next section addresses extraction processes that can be
in plants. The function of those substances in the plant is applied to separate and isolate the bioactive components
wide. They act on protection against the harmful effects of from passion fruit residues.
UV rays and pathogens such as viruses, fungi, insects and
Table 3. Phenolic compounds identified in species of Passiflora genus

Compound Part of plant Specie Reference

Leaves and pericarp P. edulis var. flavicarp
Vicenin-2 [4]
Leaves P. tripartita var. mollissima
6,8-di-C- glycosylchrysin Leaves and pericarp P. edulis var. flavicarp [4]
Spinosin Leaves and pericarp P. edulis var. flavicarp [4]
Swertisin Leaves P. tripartita var. mollissima [4]
Leaves and pericarp P. alata
Vitexina-2”-O- rhamnoside Leaves P. quadrangulares [4]
Leaves P. manicata
Rind P. edulis
Rind P. edulis
Leaves and pericarp P. edulis var. flavicarp
Leaves P. alata
Isoorientin [3, 4, 30-32]
Leaves and pericarp P. tripartita var. molíssima
Leaves P. manicata
Leaves P. edulis
Pulp P. edulis
Leaves P. edulis var. flavicarp
Leaves P. alata
Orientin [4]
Leaves and pericarp P. tripartita var. molíssima
Leaves P. manicata
Leaves P. edulis var. flavicarp
Leaves P. alata
Isovitexin Leaves and pericarp P. tripartita var. molíssima [3, 4]
Leaves P. manicata
Leaves P. edulis
Leaves P. edulis var. flavicarp
Leaves P. tripartita var. molíssima
Vitexin [3, 4]
Leaves P. manicata
Leaves P. edulis
168 Juliane Viganóet al.: Trends for the Application of Passion Fruit Industrial By-Products: A
Review on the Chemical Composition and Extraction Techniques of Phytochemicals

Table 4. Chemical structure of C-glycosyl flavonoids

Compound Aglycone R1 R2 R3 R4 R5
Vicenin-2 Apigenin Glu Glu H OH H
6,8-di-C- glycosylchrysin Chrysin Glu Glu H H H
Spinosin Apigenin Glu-O- Glu (1-2) H H OH CH3
Swertisin Apigenin Glu H H OH CH3
Vitexin-2”-O- rhamnoside Apigenin H Glu-O-rham H OH H
Isoorientin Luteolin Glu H OH OH H
Orientin Luteolin H Glu OH OH H
Isovitexin Apigenin Glu H H OH H
Vitexin Apigenin H Glu H OH H

Glu = glucose; rham = rhamnose

Source: Zucolotto et al. [4]

4. Extraction Process 40]. Thus, more environmentally friendly techniques that do

not present health risks and provide high-quality extracts
The separation process of one or more components from may be applied.
a complex mixture is a requirement to several unit
operations in food and chemical industries. Usually, the 4.2. Non-conventional Extraction Methods
main objective of this operation is to remove a specific
component to add value to the product. The specific Extraction techniques that use pressurized fluids,
component can be a residue, an interesting substance or ultrasound, enzymes, microwaves and electric pulse have
both. The separation process can be classified according to shown promising results. Besides supplying the deficiencies
the nature of the material submitted to separation, based on of conventional methods, some of these techniques can be
unit operations or classified by the type of phases in contact, considered as "green" or environmentally friendly.
such as solid-liquid, liquid-liquid, among others [37]. Extractions using pressurized fluids, besides reducing the
Basically, the separation of substances from vegetable extraction time and the amount of used solvent, can be more
matrices is classified as solid-liquid extraction, and can be selective for obtaining target compounds. The process
carried out through conventional or non-conventional selectivity and velocity are consequences of the solvent
methods. physical and chemical properties, which in some cases can
be controlled by changing the extraction parameters. In ideal
4.1. Conventional Extraction Methods solid-liquid extraction processes, the target compound must
Conventional extraction methods are defined as classical have high solubility in the employed solvent. Meanwhile,
techniques based on the extraction capacity of different other components of the solid matrix should not be
solvents and/or application of heat and shaking. The classical solubilized. In real processes this is rarely achieved. For this
techniques for obtaining substances from vegetable matrixes reason, several studies have sought to optimize conditions as
are Soxhlet and maceration. Both techniques were already the solvent/feed ratio, particle size, temperature, pressure,
used to obtain extracts from passion fruit by-products. time and solvent flow rate to obtain the best performance in
Malacrida and Jorge [6] obtained oil from passion fruit seeds terms of the target compound [39]. Two extraction methods
using Soxhlet and Cazarin et al. [10] extracted bioactive using pressurized fluids are commonly used: supercritical
compounds from the rind by maceration. fluid extraction (SFE) and pressurized liquid extraction
The advantage of both techniques is the simplicity of the (PLE).
systems and, therefore, low cost to assemble the extraction
4.2.1. Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE)
unit. On the other hand, conventional techniques have
drawbacks such as high extraction times, the use of large Supercritical fluids are extensively used for extracting
amounts of solvent [38], low selectivity, the need for solvent compounds from a large variety of matrices. Carbon dioxide
evaporation and decomposition of labile compounds [13, 39, (CO2) is the most used solvent in SFE, since it is secure,
 Food and Public Health 2015, 5(5): 164-173 169

nontoxic and has high solubilization power, which provides particles and the diffusion of the solvent/solute to their
high mass transfer rates. In addition, it is widely available, surface [48].
has low cost and can be obtained with high purity. Its critical The application of supercritical CO2 results in good
point (7,34 MPa and 31,06°C) allow obtaining extracts performance to extract nonpolar substances such as fatty
without submitting them to thermal damage [41]. On the acids, carotenoids, tocopherols and tocotrienols. Liu et al. [5]
other hand, the disadvantage of the use of this technique is suggested SFE at temperature of 56 °C, pressure of 26 MPa
the high investment cost for the construction of equipment. and extraction time of 4 h to recover oil from passion fruit
This is another reason to focus on obtaining extracts with with global yield of 25.83%. However, the authors did not
high added value from this process. identify or quantify minor lipids such as carotenoids and
Supercritical CO2 extraction processes (SC-CO2) present tocols. Although few studies have reported data on the
an important tool based on the tunable solvent properties, i.e., extraction conditions of passion fruit by-products, there is a
the selectivity of SC-CO2 can be adjusted by varying vast amount of literature work whose data show the best
temperature and pressure in order to obtain fractions conditions to recover target compounds from other vegetable
enriched in desirable compounds [42-44]. The economic matrices using SFE.
value of extracts can be increased through the recovery of
fractions rich in desired components, and this can be
achieved after comprehending the SC-CO2 mechanisms.
There is a region above the critical point in which every
substance is a single phase fluid, non-condensing and
showing some typical physicochemical properties typical of
gases and liquids (Table 5), i.e., the density approaches that
of a liquid while its viscosity is close to those of gases. The
solvation capacity of CO2 in the supercritical state depends
on its density. The higher the density, smaller spaces
between the molecules and bigger interactions between them Figure 3. Typical extraction curve of a SFE process
are reached [45, 46]. The highest density values are attained
The commonly studied variables in SFE are pressure,
by combining low temperatures (but no lower than the
temperature, solvent flow rate, extraction time, particle size
critical temperature) and high pressures.
and extraction bed properties as height/diameter ratio.
Table 5. Density and viscosity values of CO2 However, most studies focus efforts on the study of
temperature and pressure. The employed temperatures are
Density Viscosity
State
(kg/m³) (µPa.s) generally between 40 and 70°C. The lower limit is due to the
proximity of the critical temperature of CO2 and the upper
Liquid (27 °C; 50 MPa) 1029 133
limit affects the density of this solvent. Lower densities are
Gas (40 °C; 0,1 MPa) 2 16 achieved with increasing temperature, resulting in lower
Supercritical (40 °C; 10 MPa) 632 17 extraction yield and high energy consumption. Regarding
Source: Williams and Clifford [47]. pressure, most works explore the range 10-50 MPa. Pressure
has the opposite effect of temperature on CO2 density, i.e.,
The SFE process is carried out in solid matrixes by means increasing the pressure the density of CO2 increases, and
of the continuous contact between the solvent and the solid consequently its solvation capacity becomes greater.
phase. In most cases, the solid is placed in a fixed bed and the Pressures above the presented range lead to high energy
solvent flows through it. After the extraction procedure, the costs and lower pressures approach the limit of the critical
solvent loaded with the extracted solute leaves the extractor pressure of CO2.
and migrates to the precipitator or separator. The Many works have concentrated efforts to identify the
precipitation of the solute is made by simple reduction of the variables of SFE that produce better results for the extraction
pressure below the critical point. of interesting compounds. The best conditions for extracting
Extraction phenomena can be separated in three parts tocols seem to be dependent of raw material. Ciftci et al. [49]
(Figure 3). The first corresponds to the constant extraction identified 70 °C and 49.6 MPa as the best condition to obtain
rate (CER) period, which is characterized by the extraction total tocols from corn dried grans. Liu et al. [50] found 50°C
of the solute that covers the outer surface of the particles of and 15 MPa as the optimal condition to obtain total
the vegetable matrix. This is considered an easily accessible tocopherols from pomegranate. Finally, Sarmento et al. [51]
solute. In this step the mass convection mechanism identified 40°C and 20 MPa to obtain total tocols from
predominates in the process. The second period, falling parboiled rice bran. With regard to carotenoids, Wijngaard
extraction rate (FER), starts when there is insufficient et al. [39] made an extensive review on the SFE conditions
amount of solute to maintain the constant extraction rate. The and found that the extraction occurs at temperatures between
last period is diffusion controlled (DC), in which the process 50-100°C and pressures between 30-40 MPa. In terms of
is controlled only by the diffusion of the solvent inside the fatty acids, the non-polar nature of these compounds make
170 Juliane Viganóet al.: Trends for the Application of Passion Fruit Industrial By-Products: A
Review on the Chemical Composition and Extraction Techniques of Phytochemicals

them easily extractable with supercritical CO2 under According to Mustafa and Turner [56], the use of solvent
moderate pressures and temperatures, and in the case of mixtures of two substances can help improving the solubility
thermolabile compounds, values should be set in the range of and increase the interaction with the target compound, i.e.,
35-50°C. Low pressures are required to extract fatty acids, one substance improves the solubility and the other improves
generally from 10 MPa, but the general rule is: the higher is the solute desorption.
the pressure, the larger is the solvent power and the smaller is No works were performed with passion fruit by-products
the extraction selectivity [52]. SFE also can be used to employing PLE as extraction technique. However, several
recover phenolic compounds. However, in most cases the researches have indicated PLE as an alternative to recover
use of a cosolvent is needed. A wide variety of extraction phenolic compounds from a series of vegetable matrices.
temperatures have been reported as optimal for polyphenol Wijngaard and Brunton [57] reported that the antioxidant
extraction (30-100°C). However, most authors usually activity of PLE extracts from apple pomace was increased
affirm that the best temperatures are between 40 and 60°C, 2.4 times in comparison to traditional methods.
and the optimal pressures are between 20 and 30 MPa. Water According to Mustafa and Turner [56], temperature during
and ethanol are the recommended cosolvents, but amounts the extraction is one of the critical factors that affect the
higher than 10% (m/m) are not recommended because the efficiency and selectivity in PLE. The use of high
solvent can leave the supercritical state [39]. In addition, temperatures improves the efficiency of the extraction as it
SFE can show low efficiency to obtain polar compounds like helps the disruption of analyte-sample matrix interactions,
polyphenols. An alternative to overcome this problem is the decreases the surface tension of the solvent, solutes and
use of PLE processes [39, 53]. matrix, decreases the viscosity of a liquid solvent and
improves diffusion rate. On the other hand, the amount of
4.2.2. Pressurized Liquid Extraction (PLE) co-extracted analytes might increase at higher temperatures,
PLE is based on the use of solvents at high pressure and resulting in a decreased the selectivity of extraction. In
temperature, but not above the critical point. The main addition, high temperatures might affect thermo-labile
objective of this technique is to promote the extraction of compounds that are subjected to disintegration and
compounds from solid or semisolid matrices in short time hydrolytic degradation. Regarding pressure, the use of high
and using small amount of solvent. The main advantage of pressure helps forcing the solvent within the matrix pore to
PLE over conventional extraction methods is that contact and extract the analytes. The use of high pressure
pressurized solvents remain in the liquid state when taken to during the extraction could result in the disruption of cells of
temperatures higher than their boiling points. These the matrix, thus enhancing the mass transfer rate of the
conditions improve the solvation power of the liquids and the analyte from the sample to the solvent. However, the effect
desorption kinetics from the solid matrix. In addition, as well of pressure on the recovery of most substances is usually
as SFE, this extraction method is carried out in an negligible in PLE, since liquids are known as
environment free from oxygen and light, which reinforced its uncompressible fluids.
potential use in extractions of nutraceutical compounds It has been observed that among the process variables,
[54, 55]. temperature and solvent type are the most studied, since
pressures above 10 MPa have shown no significant effect on
the characteristics of the extracts. PLE has been suitably used
for the recovery of phenolic compounds from plant sources.
The used temperature range is very wide (40-200°C), while
the most used solvents are ethanol and water, individually or
in mixture [39]. In this type of process, both temperature and
solvent are strongly dependent of the characteristics of the
target compounds, due to the thermal degradation of the
compound and its polarity.

4.2.3. Sequential Extraction

Figure 4. Typical curve of a PLE process. Adapted from Mustafa and
Turner [56]
The researches mentioned in Section 3 indicate the
passion fruit by-products as potential sources to extract fatty
The PLE process can be divided in two stages. The first is acids, tocols, carotenoids and phenolic compounds. However,
a period when the extraction is controlled by the solubility, drawbacks occur because fatty acids, tocols and carotenoids
and the second is controlled by the diffusion of solutes in the are nonpolar compounds, while phenolics are polar.
solvent, as shown in Figure 4. The main solvents used in PLE Therefore, it becomes unviable to obtain separate fractions
are methanol, isopropanol, acetone, hexane and ether. Water of these components through extractions with the same
and ethanol have been increasingly employed in the solvent. To deal with this problem and to increase the
extraction of polyphenols, such as flavonoids and phenolic efficiency and selectivity of extractions some authors
acids, because they are considered "green" solvents. suggest sequential processes [39, 58, 59], i.e., from the same
 Food and Public Health 2015, 5(5): 164-173 171

solid matrix, extraction techniques as SFE and PLE could be

applied to obtain fractions of extract with distinct chemical
characteristics. The selectivity of SC-CO2 enables obtaining
different fractions of extracts, each one rich in tocols (at low REFERENCES
SC-CO2 density), fatty acids (at intermediate SC-CO2
[1] R. Martinez, P. Torres, M.A. Meneses, J.G. Figueroa, J.A.
density) and carotenoids (at high SC-CO2 density). Next, Pérez-Álvarez, M. Viuda-Martos, “Chemical, technological
PLE can lead to the recovery of phenolic compounds in and in vitro antioxidant properties of mango, guava,
which the power of each solvent might be explored. pineapple and passion fruit dietary fibre concentrate”, Food
Some works involving combinations of high pressure Chemistry, vol. 135, pp. 1520-1526, 2012.
techniques to extract bioactive compounds from vegetable [2] A.C. Oliveira, I.B. Valentim, C.A. Silva, E.J.H. Bechara, M.P.
sources have been reported. Paula et al. [60] obtained Barros, C.M. Mano, M.O.F. Goulart, “Total phenolic content
phenolic compounds from Arrabidaea chica employing and free radical scavenging activities of methanolic extract
sequential techniques and using CO2, water and ethanol as powders of tropical fruit residues”, Food Chemistry, vol. 115,
pp. 469-475, 2009.
solvents. The authors achieved better results in terms of
global yield and total phenolics when compared with [3] J.K. Silva, C.B.B. Cazarin, T.C. Colomeu, Â.G. Batista,
conventional extraction. Serra at al. [61] extracted, in L.M.M. Meletti, J.A.R. Paschoal, S. Bogusz Júnior, M.F.
sequential steps, bioactive substances from cherries using Furlan, F.G.R. Reyes, F. Augusto, M.R. Maróstica Júnior, R.
de Lima Zollner, “Antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of
CO2 and ethanol and concluded that the sequential process
passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) leaves: In vitro and in vivo
produces extracts more concentrated and with higher study”, Food Research International, vol. 53, pp. 882-890,
biological activity. Similar conclusions were obtained by 2013.
Garmus et al. [62] and [63] for sequential extraction of
[4] S.M. Zucolotto, C. Fagundes, F.H. Reginatto, F.A. Ramos, L.
pitanga and pepper-rosmarin leaves. Castellanos, C. Duque, E.P. Schenkel, “Analysis of
C-glycosyl flavonoids from South American Passiflora
species by HPLC-DAD and HPLC-MS”, Phytochemical
5. Conclusions and Future Perspectives Analysis, vol. 23, pp. 232-239, 2012.

The chemical composition of passion fruit by-products [5] S. Liu, F. Yang, C. Zhang, H. Ji, P. Hong, C. Deng,
encourages their recovery from industrial processes for novel “Optimization of process parameters for supercritical carbon
dioxide extraction of Passiflora seed oil by response surface
applications and products. The researches reported in this
methodology”, The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, vol. 48 pp.
work show that the passion fruit by-products are source of 9-14, 2009.
several phytochemical compounds of interest to food and
pharmaceutical industries. The use of this type of material [6] C.R. Malacrida, N. Jorge, “Yellow Passion Fruit Seed Oil
(Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa): Physical and Chemical
allows reducing the environmental damages, as well as adds
Characteristics”, Brazilian archives of biology and
value to a material that would be usually discarded. technology, vol. 55, pp. 127-134, 2012.
The application of extraction techniques that employ
pressurized fluids reinforces the appeal of using by-products, [7] B.S. Ferreira, C.G. de Almeida, M. Le Hyaric, V.E. de
Oliveira, H.G.M. Edwards, L.F.C. de Oliveira, “Raman
since the proposed techniques are considered Spectroscopic Investigation of Carotenoids in Oils from
environmentally friendly and enable the use of GRAS Amazonian Products”, Spectroscopy Letters, vol. 46, pp.
solvents, which are favourable for applications in food. In 122-127, 2013.
the same way, sequential extraction processes are seen with
[8] M.L. Zeraik, C.A.M. Pereira, V.G. Zuin, J.H. Yariwake,
expectation for the recovery of phytochemicals from food “Maracujá: um alimento funcional?”, Brazilian Journal of
by-products. Combined techniques promote a better Pharmacognosy, vol. 20, pp. 459-471, 2010.
exploration of the vegetal matrix, leading to the extraction of
different classes of substances from the same source, and [9] G.P. Gerola, N.V. Boas, J. Caetano, C.R.T. Tarley, A.C.
Gonçalves, D.C. Dragunski, “Utilization of Passion Fruit
accordingly, leading to fractions of extract concentrated in Skin By-Product as Lead(II) Ion Biosorbent”, Water, Air, &
target compounds. The passion fruit bagasse can be used as Soil Pollution, vol. 224, pp. 1-11, 2013.
example to this approach because it is rich in polar
compounds (oil, tocols and carotenoids) that can be [10] C.B.B. Cazarin, J.K.d. Silva, T.C. Colomeu, R.d.L. Zollner,
M.R. Maróstica Junior, “Capacidade antioxidante e
recovered in steps by SFE, and nonpolar compounds such as composição química da casca de maracujá (Passiflora
polyphenols that can be properly obtained by PLE with edulis)”, Ciência Rural, vol. 44, pp. 1699-1704, 2014.
ethanol and water as solvents.
[11] IBGE, Produção agricola municipal 2012 (PAM2012),
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, [Online].
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Available: http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/pesquisa
s/pesquisa_resultados.php?id_pesquisa=44, 2014.
The authors wish to thank to the FAPESP for the doctoral [12] C.F. Chau, Y.L. Huang, “Characterization of passion fruit
scholarship (Project nº 2014/00372-8) and for financial seed fibres - A potential fibre source”, Food Chemistry, vol.
support (Project nº 2013/02203-6), and CAPES (2952/2011). 85, pp. 189-194, 2004.
172 Juliane Viganóet al.: Trends for the Application of Passion Fruit Industrial By-Products: A
Review on the Chemical Composition and Extraction Techniques of Phytochemicals

[13] J. Martínez, A.C.d. Aguiar, Extraction of Triacylglycerols and guava (Psidium guajava), Oilseeds and fats”, Crops and
and Fatty Acids Using Supercritical Fluids - Review, Current Lipids, vol. 13, pp. 195-199, 2006.
Analytical Chemistry, 10 (2014) 67-77.
[26] C.M.P. Sarmento, S.R.S. Ferreira, H. Hense, “Supercritical
[14] A.M. Drotleff, C. Bohnsack, I. Schneider, A. Hahn, W. fluid extraction (SFE) of rice bran oil to obtain fractions
Ternes, “Human oral bioavailability and pharmacokinetics of enriched with tocopherols and tocotrienols”, Brazilian
tocotrienols from tocotrienol-rich (tocopherol-low) barley oil Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 23, pp. 243-249, 2006.
and palm oil formulations”, Journal of Functional Foods, vol.
7, pp. 150-160, 2014. [27] T. PUSSA, J. FLOREN, P. KULDKEPP, A. RAAL, “Survey
of Grapevine Vitis vinifera Stem Polyphenols by Liquid
[15] X. Zhang, Y. Shen, W. Prinyawiwatkul, J.M. King, Z. Xu, Chromatography−Diode Array Detection−Tandem Mass
“Comparison of the activities of hydrophilic anthocyanins Spectrometry”, Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry,
and lipophilic tocols in black rice bran against lipid vol. 54, pp. 7488−7494, 2006.
oxidation”, Food Chemistry, vol. 141, pp. 111-116, 2013.
[28] T.N.H. Lai, C.M. André, R. Chirinos, T.B.T. Nguyen, Y.
[16] M.T. Labuschagne, N. Mkhatywaa, B. Wentzel, E. Johansson, Larondelle, H. Rogez, “Optimisation of extraction of
A.V. Biljon, “Tocochromanol concentration, protein piceatannol from Rhodomyrtus tomentosa seeds using
composition and baking quality of white flour of South response surface methodology”, Separation and Purification
African wheat cultivars”, Journal of Food Composition and Technology, vol. 134, pp. 139-146, 2014.
Analysis, vol. 33, pp. 127–131, 2014.
[29] F.L. Oliveira, M.R.F. Nascimento, S.V. Borges, P.C.N.
[17] S.A. Heleno, L. Barros, M.J. Sousa, A. Martins, I.C.F.R. Ribeiro, V.R. Ruback, “Aproveitamento alternativo da casca
Ferreira, “Tocopherols composition of Portuguese wild do maracujá-amarelo (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) para
mushrooms with antioxidant capacity”, Food Chemistry, vol. produção de doce em calda”, Ciência e Tecnologia de
119, pp. 1443–1450, 2010. Alimentos, vol. 22, pp. 259-262, 2002.
[18] B.S. Ferreira, C.G. de Almeida, L.P. Faza, A. de Almeida, [30] M.L. Zeraik, J.H. Yariwake, Analysis of passion fruit rinds
C.G. Diniz, V.L. da Silva, R.M. Grazul, M. Le Hyaric, (Passiflora edulis): isoorientin quantification by hptlc and
“Comparative properties of Amazonian oils obtained by evaluation of antioxidant (radical scavenging) capacity,
different extraction methods”, Molecules, vol. 16, pp. Química Nova, 35 (2012) 541-545.
5875-5885, 2011.
[31] M.L. Zeraik, J.H. Yariwake, “Quantification of isoorientin
[19] E. Murillo, D. Giuffrida, D. Menchaca, P. Dugo, G. Torre, A.J. and total flavonoids in Passiflora edulis fruit pulp by
Melendez-Martinez, L. Mondello, “Native carotenoids HPLC-UV/DAD”, Microchemical Journal, vol. 96, pp. 86-91,
composition of some tropical fruits”, Food Chemistry, vol. 2010.
140, pp. 825-836, 2013.
[32] M.L. Zeraik, D. Serteyn, G. Deby-Dupont, J.N. Wauters, M.
[20] Y. Matsui, K. Sugiyama, M. Kamei, T. Takahashi, T. Suzuki, Tits, J.H. Yariwake, L. Angenot, T. Franck, “Evaluation of
Y. Katagata, T. Ito, “Extract of Passion Fruit (Passiflora the antioxidant activity of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis and
edulis) Seed Containing High Amounts of Piceatannol Passiflora alata) extracts on stimulated neutrophils and
Inhibits Melanogenesis and Promotes Collagen Synthesis”, myeloperoxidase activity assays”, Food Chemistry, vol. 128,
Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, vol. 58, pp. pp. 259-265, 2011.
11112–11118, 2010.
[33] I. Ignat, I. Volf, V.I. Popa, “A critical review of methods for
[21] S. Sano, K. Sugiyama, T. Ito, Y. Katano, A. Ishihata, characterisation of polyphenolic compounds in fruits and
“Identification of the strong vasorelaxing substance scirpusin vegetables”, Food Chemistry, vol. 126, pp. 1821-1835. 2011.
B, a dimer of piceatannol, from passion fruit (Passiflora
edulis) seeds”, Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, vol. [34] C.D. Stalikas, “Extraction, separation, and detection methods
59, pp. 6209-6213, 2011. for phenolic acids and flavonoids”, Journal of separation
science, vol. 30, pp. 3268-3295, 2007.
[22] Y. Matsumoto, N. Gotoh, S. Sano, K. Sugiyama, T. Ito, Y.
Abe, Y. Katano, A. Ishihata, “Effects of Scirpusin B, A [35] J.K. Silva, C.B.B. Cazarin, Â.G. Batista, M. Maróstica,
polyphenol in passion fruit seeds, on the coronary circulation “Effects of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) byproduct intake
of the isolated perfused rat heart”, International Journal of in antioxidant status of Wistar rats tissues”, LWT - Food
Medical Research & Health Sciences, vol. 3, pp. 547-553, Science and Technology, vol. 59, pp. 1213-1219, 2014.
2014.
[36] R. Tsao, R. Yang, “Optimization of a new mobile phase to
[23] N. Mezzomo, B.R. Mileo, M.T. Friedrich, J. Martinez, S.R. know the complex and real polyphenolic composition:
Ferreira, “Supercritical fluid extraction of peach (Prunus towards a total phenolic index using high-performance liquid
persica) almond oil: process yield and extract composition”, chromatography”, Journal of Chromatography A, vol. 1018,
Bioresource Technology, vol. 101, pp. 5622-5632, 2010. pp. 29-40, 2003.

[24] L. Fiori, V. Lavelli, K.S. Duba, P.S.C. Sri Harsha, H.B. [37] A.S. Grandison, M.J. Lewis, Separation processes - an
Mohamed, G. Guella, “Supercritical CO2 extraction of oil overview, in: A.S. Grandison, M.J. Lewis (Eds.) Separation
from seeds of six grape cultivars: Modeling of mass transfer Processes in the food and Biotechnology Industies, Cambrige,
kinetics and evaluation of lipid profiles and tocol contents”, United Kingdom: Woodhead Publishing Limited, pp. 1-15,
The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, vol. 94, pp. 71-80, 2014. 1996.

[25] G. Piombo, N. Barouh, B. Barea, R. Boulanger, P. Brat, M. [38] D.T. Santos, R.N. Cavalcanti, M.A. Rostagno, C.L. Queiroga,
Pina, P. Villeneuve, “Characterization of the seed oils from M.N. Eberlin, M.A.A. Meireles, “Extraction of Polyphenols
kiwi (Actinidia chinensis), passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) and Anthocyanins from the Jambul (Syzygium cumini) Fruit
 Food and Public Health 2015, 5(5): 164-173 173

Peels”, Food and Public Health, vol. 3 pp. 12-20, 2013. 2006.
[39] H. Wijngaard, M.B. Hossain, D.K. Rai, N. Brunton, [52] T. Fornari, G. Vicente, E. Vazquez, M.R. Garcia-Risco, G.
“Techniques to extract bioactive compounds from food Reglero, “Isolation of essential oil from different plants and
by-products of plant origin”, Food Research International, vol. herbs by supercritical fluid extraction”, Journal of
46, pp. 505-513, 2012. Chromatography A, vol. 1250, pp. 34-48, 2012.
[40] A.M. Farías-Campomanes, C.N. Horita, M.A.R. Pollonio, [53] I.C.N. Debien, M.A.A. Meireles, “Supercritical Fluid
M.A.A. Meireles, “Allicin-Rich Extract Obtained from Garlic Extraction of Beta-ecdysone from Brazilian Ginseng (Pfaffia
by Pressurized Liquid Extraction: Quantitative Determination glomerata) Roots”, Food and Public Health, vol. 4, pp. 67-73,
of Allicin in Garlic Samples”, Food and Public Health, vol. 4, 2014.
pp. 272-278, 2014.
[54] Z.Y. JU, L.R. HOWARD, “Effects of solvent and
[41] P. Santos, A.C. Aguiar, G.F. Barbero, C.A. Rezende, J. temperature on pressurized liquid extraction of anthocyanins
Martinez, “Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction of and total phenolics from dried red grape skin”, Journal of
capsaicinoids from malagueta pepper (Capsicum frutescens agricultural and food chemistry, vol. 51, pp. 5207−5213,
L.) assisted by ultrasound”, Ultrason Sonochemistry, vol. 22, 2003.
pp. 78-88, 2015.
[55] D.T. Santos, P.C. Veggi, M.A.A. Meireles, “Optimization
[42] N. Babovic, S. Djilas, M. Jadranin, V. Vajs, J. Ivanovic, S. and economic evaluation of pressurized liquid extraction of
Petrovic, I. Zizovic, “Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction phenolic compounds from jabuticaba skins”, Journal of Food
of antioxidant fractions from selected Lamiaceae herbs and Engineering, vol. 108, pp. 444-452, 2012.
their antioxidant capacity”, Innovative Food Science &
Emerging Technologies, vol. 11, pp. 98-107, 2010. [56] A. Mustafa, C. Turner, “Pressurized liquid extraction as a
green approach in food and herbal plants extraction: A
[43] G. Liu, X. Xu, Y. Gong, L. He, Y. Gao, “Effects of review”, Analytica Chimica Acta, vol. 703, pp. 8-18, 2011.
supercritical CO2 extraction parameters on chemical
composition and free radical-scavenging activity of [57] H. Wijngaard, N. Brunton, “The optimization of extraction of
pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) seed oil”, Food and antioxidants from apple pomace by pressurized liquids”,
Bioproducts Processing, vol. 90, pp. 573-578, 2012. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry, vol. 57, pp.
10625-10631, 2009.
[44] I.M. Prado, G.H.C. Prado, J.M. Prado, M.A.A. Meireles,
“Supercritical CO2 and low-pressure solvent extraction of [58] F. Temelli, O.N. Ciftci, “Developing an integrated
mango (Mangifera indica) leaves: Global yield, extraction supercritical fluid biorefinery for the processing of grains”,
kinetics, chemical composition and cost of manufacturing”, The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, vol. 96, pp. 77-85, 2015.
Food and Bioproducts Processing, vol. 91, pp. 656-664, 2013.
[59] J. Viganó, A.P.d.F. Machado, J. Martínez, “Sub- and
[45] G. Brunner, Gas extraction: an introduction to fundamentals supercritical fluid technology applied to food waste
of supercritical fluids and the application to separation processing”, The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, vol. 96, pp.
processes, Darmstadt, Germany: Springer, 1994. 272–286, 2015.

[46] G. Brunner, “Supercritical fluids: technology and application [60] J.T. Paula, L.C. Paviani, M.A. Foglio, I.M.O. Sousa, F.A.
to food processing”, Journal of Food Engineering, vol. 67, pp. Cabral, “Extraction of anthocyanins from Arrabidaea chica
21-33, 2005. in fixed bed using CO2 and CO2/ethanol/water mixtures as
solvents”, The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, vol. 81, pp.
[47] J.R. Williams, T. Clifford, Supercritical fluid methods and 33-41, 2013.
protocols, Darmstadt, Germany: Springer, 2000.
[61] A.T. Serra, I.J. Seabra, M.E.M. Braga, M.R. Bronze, H.C. de
[48] H. Sovová, “Rate of the vegetable oil extraction with Sousa, C.M.M. Duarte, “Processing cherries (Prunus avium)
supercritical CO2 – I. Modelling of extraction curves”, using supercritical fluid technology. Part 1: Recovery of
Chemical Engineering Science, vol. 49, pp. 409-414, 1994. extract fractions rich in bioactive compounds”, The Journal of
Supercritical Fluids, vol. 55, pp. 184-191, 2010.
[49] O.N. Ciftci, J. Calderon, F. Temelli, “Supercritical carbon
dioxide extraction of corn distiller's dried grains with solubles: [62] T.T. Garmus, L.C. Paviani, C.L. Queiroga, P.M. Magalhães,
experiments and mathematical modeling”, Journal of F.A. Cabral, “Extraction of phenolic compounds from pitanga
Agriculture and Food Chemistry, v. 60, pp. 12482-90, 2012. (Eugenia uniflora L.) leaves by sequential extraction in fixed
bed extractor using supercritical CO2, ethanol and water as
[50] G. Liu, X. Xu, Y. Gong, L. He, Y. Gao, “Effects of solvents”, The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, vol. 86, pp.
supercritical CO2 extraction parameters on chemical 4-14, 2014.
composition and free radical-scavenging activity of
pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) seed oil”, Food and [63] T.T. Garmus, L.C. Paviani, C.L. Queiroga, F.A. Cabral,
Bioproducts Processing, vol. 90, n. 3, pp. 573-578, 2012. “Extraction of phenolic compounds from pepper-rosmarin
(Lippia sidoides Cham.) leaves by sequential extraction in
[51] C.M.P. Sarmento, S.R.S. Ferreira, H. Hense, “Supercritical fixed bed extractor using supercritical CO2, ethanol and water
fluid extraction (SFE) of rice bran oil to obtain fractions as solvents”, The Journal of Supercritical Fluids, vol. 99, pp.
enriched with tocopherols and tocotrienols”, Brazilian 68-75, 2015.
Journal of Chemical Engineering, vol. 23, n. 2, pp. 243-249,