Extraction and Hydrolysis of Naringin from Citrus fruit peels

Abstract

Naringenin, a flavonoid belonging to the flavanones subclass has been reported to have several promising biological activities like antioxidant, antitumor, anticancer, antiviral, anti-inflammatory & estrogenic activities. Naringin is found in the glycosidic form in citrus fruits like grapefruit, orange, and lemons. Naringenin is obtained by the hydrolysis of the glycoside naringin. In the present study, environmentally benign extraction methods have been reported for the extraction of naringin from the peels of grapefruit (Citrus X paradisi), an agricultural waste of the fruit juice industry. Successful isolation of naringin from both fresh and dry albedo of grapefruit has been carried out under three different conditions to yield pure white crystalline naringin. Further, simple acidic hydrolysis under three different conditions has been standardized to yield naringenin in a relatively good yield. Characterization of both naringin and naringenin has been done using NMR and thin layer chromatography.