Evaluation of stilbenes content in Passiflora edulis by-products of the food industry

It has been reported that the antioxidant activity of the passion fruit seeds oil is comparable to that of ascorbic acid, due to a high content of polyphenols such as stilbenes. The aim of this study was to use the residues from the Madeira Island food industry to produce passion fruit seed extracts by Soxhlet and Ultrasound methods, using acetone and ethanol, in order to determine the presence of stilbenes (piceatannol and resveratrol) by High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The extracts obtained by the ultrasound method showed high piceatannol and resveratrol content, while the extracts produced by Soxhlet and the commercial oil showed none of these stilbenes. These results suggest that passion fruit oil from Madeira Island can be used by the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry because of its potential to reduce oxidative stress (ROS).