Winery by-products: Extraction optimization, phenolic composition and cytotoxic evaluation to act as a new source of scavenging of reactive oxygen species

Nearly 20 million tons of winery by-products, with many biological activities, are discarded each year in the world. The extraction of bioactive compounds from Chenin Blanc, Petit Verdot, and Syrah grape by-products, produced in the semi-arid region in Brazil, was optimized by a Central Composite Rotatable Design. The phenolic compounds profile, antioxidant capacity against synthetic free radicals (DPPH and ABTS), reactive oxygen species (ROS; peroxyl radical, superoxide radical, hypochlorous acid), cytotoxicity assay (MTT) and quantification of TNF-α production in RAW 264.7 cells were conducted. Gallic acid, syringic acid, procyanidins B1 and B2, catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, quercetin 3-β-d-glucoside, delfinidin 3-glucoside, peonidin 3-O-glucoside, and malvidin 3-glucoside were the main phenolic compounds identified. In general, rachis showed higher antioxidant capacity than pomace extract, especially for Chenin Blanc. All extracts showed low cytotoxicity against RAW 264.7 cells and Petit Verdot pomace suppressed TNF-α liberation in vitro. Therefore, these winery by-products can be considered good sources of bioactive compounds, with great potential for application in the food and pharmaceutical industries.