Novel dual-function GC/MS aided ultrasound-assisted hydrodistillation for the valorization of Citrus sinensis by-products: phytochemical analysis and anti-bacterial activities

A huge-amount of citrus by-products is being wasted every-year. There is a high-need to utilize these by-products with high-efficiency. This study focuses on the essential oil (EO) isolation from the zest of Citrus sinensis (CS) by-products, using a novel dual-function gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry optimized ultrasound-assisted hydrodistillation-prototype (DF-GC/MS-HUS). The CS-EO was GC-analyzed by MS-detector (GC/MS) and optimized by flame-ionization detector (GC/FID). Ultrasound-assisted hydrodistillation (HUS) had a dual-function in CS-EO isolation by utilizing an adequate-energy to break-open the oil-containing glands, and by functioning-as a dispersing-agent to emulsify the organic-phase. The most effective DF-GC/MS-HUS optimized-conditions were isolation under 38 °C and 10 min of 28.9 Hz sonication. The main-components of CS-EO were limonene, β-myrcene, and α-pinene (81.32%, 7.55%, and 4.20%) in prototype, compared to (60.23%, 5.33%, and 2.10%) in the conventional-method, respectively. The prototype CS-EO showed natural antibacterial-potentials, and inhibited the bio-film formation by Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria monocytogenes, and E. coli more-potent than the conventional-method. Compared to conventional-method, the prototype-method decreased the isolation-time by 83.3%, lowered energy-consumption, without carbon-dioxide production, by reducing isolation-temperatures by more-than half, which protected the thermolabile-components, and increased the quantity by 2514-folds, and improved the quality of CE-EO composition and its antibacterial-potentials. Therefore, the DF-GC/MS-HUS prototype method is considered a novel green-technique that minimized the energy-utilization with higher-efficiency.