Enhanced Recovery of Bioactive Compounds from Cagaita and Mamacadela Fruits Using Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) and Ethanol: A Comparative Study

Forget ordinary solvents—these Brazilian superfruits just met their match. A new study shows that natural eutectic solvents can unlock up to 14 times more phenolic treasure from the Cerrado's hidden gems.

Deep in the Brazilian Cerrado, two humble fruits—cagaita and mamacadela—are packed with bioactive compounds that could power the functional food and pigment industries. But getting those compounds out is no easy task. Researchers decided to compare the old standby, ethanol, with a newer, greener option: Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) made from choline chloride mixed with citric or tartaric acid.

The results were striking. While ethanol proved efficient at pulling out flavonoids and shone in antioxidant tests like ABTS and FRAP, the eutectic solvents stole the show for phenolic compounds—yielding 14.0 times more from mamacadela and 4.5 times more from cagaita than ethanol. And when it came to carotenoids, mamacadela boasted twice the content of cagaita.

Among the NADES, the choline chloride:tartaric acid mix was the champion, revealing 29 phenolic compounds in mamacadela and 27 in cagaita via mass spectrometry. These extracts aren't just lab curiosities—they show potential as natural pigments, adding value to these native fruits and encouraging industry to explore them further.

Key Points

• NADES outperforms ethanol for phenolic extraction, up to 14x.
• Mamacadela has double the carotenoids of cagaita.
• CC:TA solvent identified 29 phenolic compounds in mamacadela.