A Spanish study published in the journal Food Chemistry addresses the effectiveness of ohmic heating (OH) technology for the sustainable recovery of phenolic compounds from grape pomace (GP) by hydroethanol extraction. The biological potential of GP extracts was evaluated in terms of antioxidant activity, cytotoxicity and preventive effect against reactive oxygen species (ROS).
To understand whether GP extracts can be used as a functional ingredient, a simulated gastrointestinal digestion was performed to assess bioaccessibility. OH-assisted hydroethanolic extraction has proven to be an effective process for the recovery of GP phenolic compounds with high antioxidant capacity. The digestion process increased the concentration of total phenols and the biotransformation of high-molecule phenols (anthocyanins, flavonoids and resveratrol) into simpler phenolic acids, improving bioaccessibility.
GP extract showed selective action against cancer cells (Caco-2 and HeLa) and promoted ROS prevention.
