Multicriteria Optimization of Phenolic Compounds Capture from a Sunflower Protein Isolate Production Process by-Product by Adsorption Column and Assessment of Their Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects

The aim of this study was to valorize liquid effluent from the sunflower protein isolate process by extracting phenolic compounds it contains. To do so, XAD7 resin was used. A multicriteria optimization methodology based on design of experiments showed the optimal conditions were adsorption flow rate of 15 BV/h at pH 2.7, a desorption flow rate at 120 BV/h with ethanol/water 50% (v/v). The best trade-off between purity and recovery yields resulted in the production of a fraction containing 76.05% of chlorogenic acid (CGA) whose biological properties were evaluated. DPPH and ABTS tests showed that this fraction had a higher radical scavenging capacity than vitamin C. In vitro assays have shown that this fraction, when used at a concentration corresponding to 50 or 100 µM of CGA, does not present any cytotoxicity on human THP-1 cells differentiated into macrophages. In addition, this fraction when added prior to the inflammatory stimulus (LPS) can reduce tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) production by 22%, thereby highlighting its protective properties against future inflammation.