RSM based optimized enzyme-assisted extraction of antioxidant phenolics from underutilized watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) rind.

Enzyme assisted solvent extraction (EASE) of phenolic compounds from watermelon (C. lanatus) rind (WMR) was optimized using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with Rotatable Central Composite Design (RCCD). Four variables each at five levels i.e. enzyme concentration (EC) 0.5-6.5 %, pH 6-9, temperature (T) 25-75 °C and treatment time (t) 30-90 min, were augmented to get optimal yield of polyphenols with maximum retained antioxidant potential. The polyphenol extracts obtained under optimum conditions were evaluated for their in-vitro antioxidant activities and characterized for individual phenolic profile by RP-HPLC-DAD. The results obtained indicated that optimized EASE enhanced the liberation of antioxidant phenolics up to 3 folds on fresh weight basis (FW) as compared to conventional solvent extraction (CSE), with substantial level of total phenolics (173.70 mg GAE/g FW), TEAC 279.96 mg TE/g FW and DPPH radical scavenging ability (IC50) 112.27 mg/mL. Chlorogenic acid (115.60-1611.04), Vanillic acid (26.13-2317.01) and Sinapic acid (113.01-241.12 µg/g) were major phenolic acid found in EASEx of WMR. Overall, it was concluded that EASE might be efficient and green technique to revalorize under-utilized WMR into potent antioxidant phenolic for their further application in food and nutraceutical industries.