EXTRACCIÓN Y ESTABILIDAD DE LA AZADIRACTINA A EN EXTRACTOS DE NEEM (Azadirachta indica) OBTENIDOS CON ENZIMAS Y DISOLVENTES.

Neem seed (Azadirachta indica) contains triterpenoids with acaricidal and pest repellent activity in the agricultural sector. The concentration of the compounds in neem oil depends on the method of extraction. The hypothesis in this study was that the use of enzymes and solvents increases the release of Azadirachtin A (AzaA) from the neem seed, and its concentration remains stable in the extracts during storage at different temperatures. The objective was to determine the effect of hexane maceration of neem extracts prepared with Crystalzyme® PLMX, Crystalzyme® Cran, Crystalzyme® 100XL, and Cellulase 17600L on the extraction of azadirachtin A (AzaA) and its storage stability. The experimental design was completely randomized with three repetitions. The experimental unit was the neem seed collected from a plantation in Jamapa, Veracruz, Mexico. The loss rate constant (k) of AzaA in storage was determined by a first order equation. Data were analyzed with ANDEVA and the Tukey mean comparison test (p£0.05). The highest concentration of AzaA (2.73 g L-1) was obtained with CPLMX in hydrolysis and 24 h of maceration with hexane, with a greater proportion of the aqueous fraction (2.67 g L-1) than the hexane fraction (0.06 g L-1). The concentrations of AzaA extracted with the use of enzymes and hexane were similar to those obtained by ultrasound, mechanical pressing and methanolic extrusion. The loss of AzaA in the enzyme extracts increased with the increase in storage temperature, since it was not detected in the enzyme extracts after 7 and 28 d of storage at 50 and 30 °C, respectively. The concentration of AzaA (20%) remained constant 28 d after storage at 5 °C and showed the lowest k among the enzyme extracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]