José Villacís-Chiriboga

Flemish Institute for Technological Research | VITO · Research Group for Materials Technology

An interlaboratory comparison was done for the analysis of carotenoids in freeze-dried mango. The study was performed from July to September 2018. Mango fruit was freeze-dried, homogenized, and packaged under vacuum conditions in portions of 6 g (test sample). Two test samples were sent to the participating laboratories for analysis. Laboratory res...

The potential of supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) for the extraction of bioactive compounds from mango by-products was assessed. Carotenoid extraction was optimized using a design of experiments based on temperature (35, 55 and 70 °C), pressure (10 and 35 MPa) and co-solvent addition (0%, 10% and 20% of ethanol or acetone). Moreover, the co-extraction of...

The global trade of tropical fruits is expected to increase significantly in the coming years. In 2018, the production was approximately 100 million tones, an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous year. Nevertheless, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization, every year one‐third of the food produced in the world for human consumption...

Tropical fruits represent one of the most important crops in the world. The continuously growing global market for the main tropical fruits is currently estimated at 84 million tons, of which approximately half is lost or wasted throughout the whole processing chain. Developing novel processes for the conversion of these by-products into value-adde...

Five different solvent systems were screened in a two step extraction: (1) methanol, (2) hexane:ethanol (50:50; v:v), (3) hexane + ethylacetate, (4) hexane:ethylacetate (50:50; v:v) and (5) acetone:methanol (70:30; v:v) + methanol:dichloromethane (50:50; v:v); in all systems the mango:solvent ratio was 1:10 (m:v). The last solvent system, based on...

The aim of the present manuscript was to expose the importance that ethnomedicine has as a foundation for cultural identity and the discovery of new drugs, with a focus on the Ecuadorian Amazon and the use of guayusa (Ilex guayusa Loes.). Since the beginning of history, human beings have used natural elements for their own benefit, mainly in the ar...

Background: Guayusa (Ilex guayusa Loes.) leaves, native of the Ecuadorian amazon, are popularly used for preparing teas. This study aimed to assess the influence of leaf age on the phenolic compounds and carotenoids, and the bioactivity and digestibility (in vitro) of aqueous and hydroalcoholic leaf extracts. Results: In total, 14 phenolic compo...

Guayusa (Ilex guayusa Loes.) is a native plant of the Amazon with deep meaning and several traditional uses for the Amazonian cultures inside Ecuador; mainly it has been used to prepare a ritual drink that acts like stimulant and emetic. The medicinal properties and stimulants of guayusa are making it a popular drink. The aim of this work was to en...

Ecuador es el único productor de cacao fino de aroma del mundo. Este dato refleja la alta calidad del cacao ecuatoriano y su importancia en la economía del país. Los polifenoles del cacao son responsables en gran parte de su astrigencia y amargor, así como de su capacidad antioxidante. El objetivo del presente estudio fue caracterizar el contenido...