Microwave replacing traditional concentrating process to promote the synthesis of mumefural in Prunus mume extract.

Mumefural (MF), the primary functional ingredient of prunus mume extract that enhances blood fluidity, is produced by boiling the prunus mume juice for 24-48 h in a traditional one-step concentration process. Low MF yields and long processing time are two disadvantages of this process. This study introduced microwaves into the traditional one-step concentration process of prunus mume extract for increasing MF content. The best time for microwave treatment of prunus mume extract was concentrated to remove 93 %-95 % water. Results demonstrated that as microwave processing time increased, the content of reducing sugar, glucose, fructose, titratable acid content, and organic acids initially significantly increased (p < 0.05) and subsequently dramatically decreased (p < 0.05). Additionally, 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) and MF showed a significant increase (p < 0.05) with the extension of microwave processing time. The MF generated by microwave for 0.5 min was equal to the concentration for 0.5 h. After 2 min microwave, the MF content in the prunus mume extract increased by fivefold compared to the sample without microwave treatment, and the maximum increase in MF was 3.19 g/kg. The two-step process consisted of concentration followed by microwave, which could shorten the concentration-time, promote the synthesis of MF, increase the content of MF, and provide a new idea for enterprises to improve the processing technology of prunus mume extract.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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