Potato sprouts, an underutilized by-product of potato processing, could be exploited for the recovery of caffeoyl-quinic acids (CQAs), a family of polyphenols with well-recognized biological activities. In this work, the predominant compound of this class, 5-CQA, was extracted by Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) under conditions optimized by an Experimental Design. The investigated variables solid/solvent ratio (1:10-1:50 g/mL), water content in ethanol (30-100% v/v) and UAE time (5-20 min) highlighted a critical influence of the last two factors on the extraction efficiency: extracts richer in 5-CQA were obtained with lower water content (30%) and time (5 min). The addition of ascorbic acid (1.7 mM) as anti-browning agent to the extraction solvent improved the extraction efficiency of 5-CQA compared to acetic and citric acids (3158.71 μg/mL, 1766.71 μg/mL, 1468.20 μg/mL, respectively). A parallel trend for the three acids and an increase in 5-CQA recovery was obtained with the use of freeze-dried sprouts (4980.05 μg/mL, 4795.62, 4211.25 μg/mL, respectively). Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) in vitro demonstrated UAE being a more valuable technique than conventional maceration. Furthermore, three-times-higher values of TPC (7.89 mg GAE/g) and TAC (FRAP: 24.01 mg TE/g; DPPH: 26.20 mg TE/g; ABTS 26.72 mg TE/g) were measured for the optimized extract compared to the initial one. An HPLC-DAD method was applied to monitor 5-CQA recovery, while an LC-HRMS/MS investigation allowed us to perform analyte identity confirmation along with detection of the glycoalkaloids α-solanine and α-chaconine. This evidence underlines the necessity to develop purification strategies in order to maximize the potential of potato sprout waste as a source of 5-CQA.
Keywords: Experimental Design; Liquid Chromatography; UAE; antioxidant activity; chlorogenic acids; enzymatic browning; potato sprout waste.