Recovery of Phenolic Compounds From Babassu Mesocarp Flour Using Pressurized Liquid Extraction

Babassu mesocarp flour (BMF) is a starchy coproduct obtained during the processing of babassu fruit and represents a potential source of bioactive compounds that remain underexplored. This work aimed to evaluate the recovery of phenolics from BMF by comparing the pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) with conventional maceration, in terms of extraction yield, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant capacity (AC), under the hypothesis that PLE could provide comparable or higher values for these parameters in a shorter extraction time. Extractions were performed with an ethanol–water mixture (75:25, v/v). PLE was conducted in three static cycles of 5 min each at temperatures ranging from 55 to 95 °C, a pressure of 10 MPa, and a volumetric flow rate of 5.0 mL/min. For maceration, the sample (1:10, w/v) was kept at room temperature for 24 h. All extracts were analyzed for global yields, TPC, antioxidant capacity (DPPH, FRAP, and ORAC assays), and their phenolic profile was investigated by UHPLC-ESI-HRMS/MS. PLE at 95 °C provided a higher TPC (25.82 ± 1.05 mg GAE/g) and higher AC (DPPH = 130.54 ± 0.16 µmol TE/g, FRAP = 152.99 ± 3.4 µmol TE/g, ORAC = 158.82 ± 13.66 µmol TE/g) than maceration, while reducing the extraction time from 24 h to 15 min. The main phenolics detected were flavonoids and tannins. Based on these results, PLE can be considered a more time-efficient strategy for recovering phenolic bioactives from BMF.