The present work had the objective of producing liqueurs from mango peels (varieties "Haden" and "Tommy Atkins") by processes of alcoholic maceration and maceration with pectinase, as well as to evaluate bioactive compounds by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to diode array detection and fluorescence-detection (RP-HPLC/DAD/FD) and in vitro antioxidant activity (AOX), for by-product potential reuse. Alcoholic maceration in wine ethanol (65% v/v) produced liqueurs with higher phytochemical and AOX content. Maceration with pectinase resulted in liqueurs with higher quercetin-3-O-glucopyranoside content. In relation to mango varieties, Haden liqueurs presented higher bioactive content than Tommy Atkins liqueurs. The liqueurs presented high antioxidant activity. The main bioactive compounds found were flavanols (epicatechin-gallate, epigallocatechin-gallate), flavonols (quercetin-3-O-glucopyranoside and rutin), and phenolic acids (gallic acid, o-coumaric acid, and syringic acid). The present study showed that the production of liqueur enabled the recovering of an important part of the bioactive content of mango peels, suggesting an alternative for the recovery of antioxidant substances from this by-product.
Keywords: HPLC; pectinase; phenolic compounds.