Innovative microwave-assisted hydrolysis of ellagitannins and quantification as ellagic acid equivalents.

Institute of Life Technologies, University of Applied Sciences Western Switzerland, Route du Rawyl 47, CH-1950 Sion, Switzerland.

Food chemistry 2013 Jun 15

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The health-promoting effects of ellagic acid and its intestinal degradation products are well-known. In plants, ellagic acid mainly appears in the form of its precursors, the so-called ellagitannins. Therefore, determination of total ellagic acid content has been accomplished by cleaving ellagitannins with high temperatures and strong acids. Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) has been shown to be a very effective and quick extraction technique. The aim of the present study was to establish an MAE-based method for a rapid hydrolysis of ellagitannins and to compare this method with a conventional acid hydrolysis. For this purpose, strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa), which have been identified as a major source of ellagitannins in human diet, were used as a model. The newly developed MAE method was quicker, less chemical-consuming and more effective in hydrolysing ellagitannins. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Citation

Grigorios Theocharis, Wilfried Andlauer. Innovative microwave-assisted hydrolysis of ellagitannins and quantification as ellagic acid equivalents. Food chemistry. 2013 Jun 15;138(4):2430-4