Vol:.(1234567890)
Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization (2022) 16:3578–3588
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11694-022-01446-7
1 3
ORIGINAL PAPER
Comparative study on the effect of extraction solvent on total phenol,
flavonoid content, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of red
onion (Allium cepa)
Samaneh Khalili
1
· Mohammad Reza Saeidi Asl
1
· Maryam Khavarpour
2
· Seyed Mohammad Vahdat
3
·
Maedeh Mohammadi
4
Received: 14 January 2022 / Accepted: 5 May 2022 / Published online: 8 June 2022
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2022
Abstract
Red onion extract is rich of phenol and flavonoid component that has many applications in food,
cosmetic and pharmaceuti-
cal industries. Effect of various solvents on total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity
and antimicrobial properties of red onion skin extract was evaluated. After drying of the first outermost layer of onion peel,
extraction was performed in a series of solvents with increasing polarity (ethyl acetate,
n-butanol ethanol,
methanol, and
water) using maceration method. Extraction in highly polar solvents led to high extract yield but low phenolic and flavonoid
content as
compared to ethyl acetate and n-butanol. The highest yield of extraction was obtained using methanol (5.6 ± 0.07%
w/w) followed by water (4.8 ± 0.06% w/w). Results depicted that the extracts acquired by ethyl acetate had the highest TPC
(423.95 ± 11.39 mg GAE/g of extract), TFC (29.59 ± 1.71 mg QE/g of extract) and antioxidant
and antimicrobial activ-
ity. High correlation was also found between DPPH radical scavenging activity and total flavonoid content (R = 0.9468).
Moreover, the extracts were more active against
Staphylococcus aureus as compared to
Escherichia coli and
Salmonella
Typhimurium
. Using intermediate-polar solvents in contrast to polar solvents resulted to extract the components with higher
antioxidant and antimicrobial properties.
In conclusion, red onion skin can be used as antibacterial agents against foodborne
pathogens and in dietary applications with a potential to reduce oxidative stress.
