MICROWAVE-ASSISTED EXTRACTION OF PHENOLIC FROM CACAO POD HUSKS - AN ALTERNATIVE FOR VALORISATION

This study has investigated valorisation of CPH by comparing the extraction of phenolic compounds using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) with conventional solvent extraction (CSE). Extraction time, temperature, ethanol concentration, and solvent to feed (S/F) ratio were investigated to obtain the maximum yield. The extract quality was presented as total phenolic content (TPC) which was measured by using a UV/Vis Spectrophotometer. The results showed that at a lower temperature (60 °C), MAE could produce higher TPC (107.3±1.4 mg GAE/g dw) than CSE at 70 °C (105.4±0.9 mg GAE/g dw) even when the same heating rate was applied. It can be believed that the high extraction yield on MAE is due to the selective heating effect. Results of this study suggest that MAE has potential to valorise CPH waste into valuable ingredients based on phenolic compounds