This study investigates the possibility of valorizing coffee silverskin through the recovery of its bioactive compounds using a sustainable extraction method that could be industrially applied. For that, aqueous extracts were prepared using ultrasonic-assisted extraction (laboratorial scale) and, for comparison, a scale-up of the process was developed using the Multi-frequency Multimode Modulated technology. A concentration procedure at the pilot scale was also tested. The three types of extracts obtained were characterized regarding caffeine and chlorogenic acids contents, and the effects on intestinal glucose and fructose uptake (including sugar transporters expression) in human intestinal epithelial (Caco-2) cells were ascertained. The phytochemical contents of the extracts prepared at the laboratory and pilot scale were comparable (caffeine: 27.7 vs. 29.6 mg/g freeze-dried extract; 3-, 4-, and 5-caffeoylquinic acids: 0.19 vs. 0.31, 0.15 vs. 0.42, and 1.04 vs. 1.98 mg/g, respectively; 4- and 5- feruloylquinic acids: 0.39 vs. 0.43 and 1.05 vs. 1.32 mg/g, respectively). Slight differences were noticed according to the extracts preparation steps, but in general, all the extracts promoted significant inhibitions of [1,2-3H(N)]-deoxy-D-glucose and 14C-D-fructose uptake, which resulted mainly from a decrease on the facilitative glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2) and sodium-glucose linked transporter 1 (SGLT1) genes expression but not on the expression of the facilitative glucose transporter 5 (GLUT5) gene. Moreover, a synergistic effect of caffeine and 5-caffeoylquinic acid on sugars uptake was found. The results clearly show that the Multi-frequency Multimode Modulated technology is a viable option to be applied at an industrial level to recover bioactive components from silverskin and obtain extracts with antidiabetic potential that could be used to develop functional food products or dietary supplements.
Keywords: coffee by-product; green technology; health benefits; innovative applications; scale-up; sustainability.