Ji-min Han, Jin-Seok Park, Ye-Seul Park, and Byung-Soo Chun
Department of Food Science and Technology, Pukyong National University, 45 Yongso-ro, Nam-gu, Busan 48513, Korea
Sargassum thunbergii is a brown seaweed rich in functional polysaccharides and phenolic compounds. In this study, the optimal Subcritical Water Extraction (SWE) conditions for antioxidants and polyphenols of S. thunbergii were evaluated using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The optimal extraction conditions were determined to be 196.37 °C, 31.58 min, 3.42 Mpa. The total phenolic content (TPC) was predicted to be 16.023 mg PGE/g of dry sample, The TPC of the optimal condition S. thunbergii extract was 17.08±0.28 PGE/g, confirming that it was a statistically significant model. The antioxidant activity for ABTS, DPPH radical scavenging, FRAP and Reducing power of S. thunbergii extract was (51.67±0.64, 32.38±0.78, 35.10±1.73, 28.69±0.58) mg TE/g dried sample, respectively. Finally, individual phenolic compounds present in the extracted bioactive compounds from S. thunbergii was analyzed by HPLC. The result of this study is S. thunbergii could be extracted using subcritical water process, which is not only more environmentally friendly but also more effective to make functional substance. And this study provides scientific evidence for further exploitation and utilization of S. thunbergii in the preparation of functional foods as well as in medicine, cosmetics, and the development of active films.