Valorisation of sweet corn (Zea mays) cob by extraction of valuable compounds

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate the proximate, mineral and phytochemical compositions of sweet corn cob (SCC), often neglected and regarded as agricultural waste. Compositional analysis showed that more than 60% of SCC was composed of insoluble dietary fibre, with cellulose being the major constituent. Results also showed that SCC can be a good source of non-essential protein and minerals (phosphorus, potassium and manganese). SCC had a total phenolic content of 6.74 g GAE kg À1 dry weight (DW), of which bound phenolics were predominant. The bound phenolics fraction showed the highest antioxidant capacity in all three antioxidant capacity assays (TEAC, FRAP and DPPH) and contained the highest amount of ferulic and p-coumaric acid. The main carotenoids present in SCC were b-carotene, zeaxanthin and lutein. This investigation shows that SCC can be a potential source of natural colorant (carotenoids), antioxidants (phenolics) and nutritional supplements (proteins and phytochemicals). Valorisation of sweet corn (Zea mays) cob T. Lau et al. *All content based on the freeze-dried sweet corn cob. Values presented as mean AE standard deviation; Superscripts indicate significantly different at P ≤ 0.05. † Presented as polymers, contributing to hemicellulose content.

Optimization of enzyme‐assisted extraction of ferulic acid from sweet corn cob by response surface methodology

“…Previous studies of the alkali hydrolysis of SCC showed that it contains 3.06 g kg −1 of total FA . Hence, this research aimed to investigate the effect of extraction parameters (enzyme concentration of FAE and XY, pH, and temperature) on the yield of FA from sweet corn cob.…”

“…The quantification of FA was carried out according to the method described in Lau et al . Briefly, the analysis was performed with HP Agilent 1050 liquid chromatography equipped with a DAD detector, with a Zorbax SB‐C18 column (2.1 × 15 mm, 1.8 μm).…”

“…The extraction of FA has been carried out with alkaline, acidic, pressurized solvent, ultrasonic, supercritical CO 2 , microwave‐assisted, and enzymatic extraction. Commonly, the release of FA from SCC has been carried out using alkali hydrolysis . The yield of FA from SCC was reported to be 3.06 g kg −1 , 7.65 g kg −1 , and 1171 mg L −1 , respectively.…”

“…Commonly, the release of FA from SCC has been carried out using alkali hydrolysis . The yield of FA from SCC was reported to be 3.06 g kg −1 , 7.65 g kg −1 , and 1171 mg L −1 , respectively. However, this conventional method of hydrolysis has several disadvantages including use of large amounts of solvent and subsequent solvent disposal problems, leading to an increase in environmental pollution.…”

Advances in recovery bioactive compounds from potato wastes: processing technologies and applications

“…In recent years, there has been a focus on sustainability and the utilisation of food waste materials in the International Journal of Food Science and Technology (Esteban & Ladero, ; Rhom & Aschemann‐Witzel, ). Thus, research has evaluated how food technology can utilise waste materials from sweet corn (Lau, Harbourne & Oruna‐Concha, ), fruit (Wang, Li & Liu, ; Theagarajan et al , ) and vegetables (Plazzotta, Sillani & Manzocco, ; Lafarga et al , ). However, potato waste utilisation has been neglected as a research topic.…”