The added value of flavouring extracts from Calabrian chili peppers by-products: characterization of bioactive and volatile compounds comparing green extraction techniques

The industrial demand for natural flavourings is increasing, together with green technologies development and diffusion. This article investigates different extraction strategies for flavouring obtainment from Calabrian chili peppers supply chain by-products. Green solvent mixtures were tested on Soxhlet, Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction (UAE) and Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE). Extracts were characterized through bioactive compounds quantification and volatile profile monitoring. Preliminary Soxhlet experiments set the matrix/solvent ratio at 1/25 (g/mL). SFE extracts exhibited the highest concentration of less-polar polyphenols, such as flavonoids, total carotenoids, but also alpha-tocopherol and capsaicinoids. On the other hand, the UAE and Soxhlet processes, involving ethanol/water mixtures, allowed the highest yields, the greatest antioxidant activity and a high content of vitamin C (up to 1.27 mg/g). In conclusion, this work underlines the importance of extraction technique choice and could represent an advancement in industrial flavourings extractions, suggesting sustainable methods to obtain value-added extracts from discarded matrices.