Abstract

Pracaxi is an Amazon oil very appreciated by industries due to its biological characteristics, when it is processed to generate a biomass that is generally accumulated without proper disposal. This material is a source of phytochemicals with high biological activity. The Design of Experiments (DOE) is an interesting approach to optimize processes capable of controlling variables that influence this process, without the need to perform many tests. The aim of this work was to optimize the ultrasound-assisted extraction of bioactive compounds (Total phenolic compounds -TPC, Total flavonoids- TF and antioxidant activity - AA) from pracaxi biomass residue through an axial 2³ experimental design, with desirability tool and Response Surface Methodology (RSM), the effects studied were: extraction time in ultrasound (min) (x1), solid-liquid ratio (% m/v) (x2) and ethanol concentration (% v/v) (x3), the dependent variables were TPC, TF and AA. The experimental design showed that variables with the most significant effect in this study were the x2 followed by the x3 and x1. The theoretical optimal condition was achieve using desirability tool with overall value of D= 63.58% with the following conditions: 0.738 mg GAE/g for TPC, 0.023 mg QE/g and 100 µmol ET/g of sample. The experimental values obtained achieved error values of 13.17%; 17.85% and 8.78%, respectively. Indicating that the model obtained can be considered satisfactory. Using ethanol with assisted ultrasound is an efficient technique for the extraction of bioactive compounds from pracaxi, being economically viable giving the possibility of valuing a residue from the Amazon, contributing to the circular economy.