Optimization of the Accelerated Solvent Extraction of Caffeoylquinic Acids from Forced Chicory Roots and Antioxidant Activity of the Resulting Extracts.

Forced chicory roots (FCR) are the main but also the least valued by-products of Belgian endive culture. However, they contain molecules of interest for industry such as caffeoylquinic acids (CQAs). This study aims to investigate accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) as a green technique to recover chlorogenic acid (5-CQA) and 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid (3,5-diCQA), the main CQAs. A D-optimal design was used to determine the influence of temperature and ethanol percentage on their extraction. Optimal extraction conditions were determined using response surface methodology (RSM) and allow the recovery of 4.95 ± 0.48 mg/g DM of 5-CQA at 107 °C, 46% of ethanol and 5.41 ± 0.79 mg/g DM of 3,5-diCQA at 95 °C, 57% of ethanol. The antioxidant activity of the extracts was also optimized by RSM. The highest antioxidant activity was achieved at 115 °C with 40% ethanol (more than 22mgTrolox/g DM ). Finally, correlation between the antioxidant activity and the amount of CQAs was determined. FCR can be a great source of bioactive compounds with potential use as biobased antioxidant.