Pineapple is meanly commercially processed. However, it is a fruit that generates a high proportion of nonedible wastes, which are rich in antioxidant compounds and have a varied aromatic profile. These characteristics turn these by-products into potential agri-food waste that can be revalued and applied in different fields such as medical, pharmaceutical, or food applications. The aim of the present work was the characterization and extraction of the volatile compounds present in two pineapple by-products (peel and core) and the subsequent evaluation of their antioxidant capacity. For this purpose, the analysis of the aromatic profile of both by-products has been carried out using the headspace solid-phase microextraction technique coupled to gas chromatography with a mass spectrometry detector (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The optimization of the extraction conditions of the volatile compounds has been validated using a Box-Behnken experimental design. In addition, a quantitative analysis was carried out to determine the contents of two important volatiles in pineapple wastes, isopentyl, and ethyl acetate. Moreover, the estimation of the antioxidant capacity of the subproducts extracts was carried out using different methods All the antioxidant assays demonstrated that pineapple subproducts are rich in easily extractable antioxidants with possible applications in the food industry.
Keywords: antioxidant activity; experimental design; pineapple by-products; total phenolic content; volatile compounds.