Polyphenols Recovery from Tropical Fruits (Pink Guava) Wastes via Ultra-Filtration Membrane Technology Application by Optimum Solvent Selection

Wastes generated from the processing of some fruits still contain large amounts of chemical components such as polyphenols, which are deemed as very effective antioxidants. This study involves the characterization of wastes generation by pink guava processing and selection of the best solvent that will allow us to extract the excess polyphenols via ultra-filtration membrane technology. The wastes were gathered from a juice processing factory in Sitiawan, Perak, Malaysia. The results are conclusive of the fact that the wastes contain quite a large percentage of polyphenols. The highest total polyphenol content was observed in mixture of methanol-water (60% concentration) and pure water as solvents, respectively for 1g of waste per using 25mL of each solvent. This phenomenon is also directly proportional to extraction time and duly concluded that pure water is the effective solvent for retrieving polyphenols from pink guava processing wastes.