Green extraction of carotenoids from apricot flesh by ultrasound assisted corn oil extraction: Optimization, identification, and application.

The valorization of waste apricot flesh (WAF) can solve environmental and economic problems, and also meets the demand for natural pigments. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to recover carotenoids from WAF, to determine the type and content of carotenoids in the extracts and to explore the potential of the extracts for food industry applications. The extraction conditions were optimized. The total carotenoids content (TCC) was 42.75 mg/100 g dried weight under the optimized conditions: Time: 60 min, Temperature: 41.53℃, Power: 200 W, Liquid to solid (LS) ratio: 0.10 g/mL. The highest content of carotenoids in the corn oil extracts (COE) was phytoene. Color of COE under high temperature was investigated. Carotenoids in the COE were degraded at high temperatures. The a* of fries fried by COE was 7.31 times higher than that of corn oil. This study provides guidance for the green recovery of carotenoids and valorization of WAF.

Low-temperature plasma modification, structural characterization and anti-diabetic activity of an apricot pectic polysaccharide.

To fully research the anti-diabetic activity of apricot polysaccharide, low temperature plasma (LTP) was used to modify apricot polysaccharide. The modified polysaccharide was isolated and purified using column chromatography. It was found that LTP modification can significantly improve the α-glucosidase glucosidase inhibition rate of apricot polysaccharides. The isolated fraction FAPP-2D with HG domain showed excellent anti-diabetic activity in insulin resistance model in L6 cell. We found that FAPP-2D increased the ADP/ATP ratio and inhibited PKA phosphorylation, activating the LKB1-AMPK pathway. Moreover, FAPP-2D activated AMPK-PGC1α pathway, which could stimulated mitochondrial production and regulate energy metabolism, promoting GLUT4 protein transport to achieve an anti-diabetic effect. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data showed that the LTP modification could increase the CH bond content while decreasing the C-O-C/C-O bond content, indicating that LTP destroyed the C-O-C/C-O bond, which enhanced the anti-diabetes activity of the modified apricot pectin polysaccharide. Our findings could pave the way for the molecular exploitation of apricot polysaccharides and the application of low-temperature plasma.