Utilization of tomato waste as a source of polyphenolic antioxidants

This study is concerned with the effects of two extraction procedures (using ultrasonic bath and high performance homogenizer) on the extraction efficiency of polyphenolics present in the tomato waste. The isolation of flavonoid fraction of obtained extracts was performed by solid-phase extraction. The antioxidant activity of flavonoid fractions was determined using different spectrophotometric tests, including reducing power and 2,2- diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging assays. The content of total polyphenolics and flavonoids in extract obtained employing homogenizer (E2) was higher than in the extract obtained employing ultrasonic bath (E1), and it was 14.33 mg/g and 7.70 mg/g, respectively. The flavonoid fraction (EF2) of extract E2 showed higher antioxidant activity than flavonoid fraction (EF1) of extract E1. The DPPH free radical scavenging activity of fractions EF1 and EF2, expressed as EC50 value, were 0.78 mg/ml and 0.45 mg/ml, respectively. The obtained results show that tomato wastes can be used as an easily accessible source of antioxidant polyphenolics