Influence of extraction solvents on polyphenols from Sea Fennel

Crithmum maritimum L., commonly known as sea fennel or rock samphire, is an aromatic edible halophyte plant growing on maritime cliffs and sometimes in sands in the European and Atlantic coast. This halophyte plant has traditionally used in Mediteranean countries as food ingredient and in folk medicine. Sea fennel represents various economical interests, due to its high contents in minerals, vitamin C and polyphenols with antioxidant properties. The aim of this research was to determine the yields of total polyphenols and hydroxycinnamic acids of the sea fennel leaf depending on the solvent extraction applied for their isolation. Results showed that phenolic contents varied considerably as function of solvent polarity. The addition of 50 % water to methanol, acetone or ethanol enhance the extraction yields of polyphenols from sea fennel. Therefore, ethanol/water (1:1) seems to be the most recommended solvent for polyphenolic extraction from sea fennel. Sea fennel leaf extract using ethanol/water mixture show the highest mass fraction of total polyphenols (77.05 mg GAE/g) and mass fraction of hydroxycinnamic acids (50.94 mg CAE/g). These results indicate that sea fennel can be considered as a valuable source of polyphenols, especially of hydroxycinnamic acids that is known to have strong antioxidant capacity. Our findings identified the appropriate solvent for extracting polyphenols that might provide a rich and novel source of natural antioxidants. Sea fennel might find a number of industrial applications as food additives replacing synthetic ones in food industry.