LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

LWT - Food Science and Technology

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/lwt

Study of two-stage microwave extraction of essential oil and pectin

from pomelo peels
Qun Chen a, Zhuoyan Hu a, b, Fiona Yan-Dong Yao c, Hanhua Liang a, d, *
a
Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
b
College of Food Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, China
c
Hong Kong Community College, Hung Hom Campus, 8 Hung Lok Road, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
d
Food Safety and Technology Research Center, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Pomelo peels were first processed by a solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME) for essential oils, then
Received 17 July 2015 by a hot-solvent microwave extraction (HSME) for pectin. SFME was superior to the conventional
Received in revised form hydrodistillation (HD) method for essential oil extraction and HSME was better than acidic solution
6 November 2015
method for pectin extraction in terms of extraction efficiency and yield of targeted component. Chemical
Accepted 9 November 2015
Available online 14 November 2015
composition analysis by GCeMS showed that SFME did not affect the quality of essential oils. By using
the response surface methodology, the optimal conditions of HSME for pectin was found at microwave
power of 520 W, solvent pH value of 1.5 and extraction time of 5.6 min. Surface view by optical mi-
Keywords:
Two-stage process
croscope (OM) and cross sectional view by scanning electron microscope (SEM) of the peels suggested
Microwave extraction that microwave can enhance the extraction process by two distinct mechanisms: one attributes to the
Essential oil diffusion across the intact oil gland while the other involves the convection through the broken oil gland.
Pectin © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Pomelo peel

1. Introduction peels, based on their methoxyl content and degree of esterification,

The pomelo (Citrus grandis), which commonly grows in south-
ern China, is the largest and juiciest fruit of the citrus family. It
contains large amounts of carotenoids, vitamin E, flavonoids,
limonoids, phenolic compounds, polysaccharides, lignin, fiber,
pectin, essential oils, and is very popular in Southeast Asia. Essen-
tial oils in pomelo peels are responsible for the typical citrus-like
aroma of the fruit (Saikaew, Kaewsarn, & Saikaew, 2009). As
abundant sources of terpenoids, essential oils are made up of a
mixture of many volatile compounds (Baser & Buchbauer, 2010).
They are obtained as by-products of citrus processing and have
widespread applications around the world as aroma flavor in many
food products and in the pharmaceutical industry (Başer & Demirci,
2007). Pomelo peels are also rich in pectin. As a group of complex
polysaccharides, pectin is localized in the middle lamella, inter-
cellular crevices, and primary cell walls, and is known for the
possession of pharmacological, hypoglycemic, and cholesterol-
lowering effects (Francis, 2000). Pectin isolated from pomelo
* Corresponding author. Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technol-
ogy, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
E-mail address: bchhliang@polyu.edu.hk (H. Liang).
can be classified as low methoxyl pectin and has been applied in the
manufacture of low-sugar products such as low-sugar jam and jelly
(Norziah, Fang, & Abd Karim, 2000).
A traditional method of essential oil extraction is cold-press of
the citrus peel (Bousbia, Vian, Ferhat, Meklati, & Chemat, 2009).
Methods such as hydrodistillation (HD) and steam distillation are
also popular for the extraction of volatile oils from plant materials
(Lucchesi, Chemat, & Smadja, 2004). Conventionally, pectin is
extracted in acidic solution at about 80e82
C for 1 h with
continuous stirring (Kratchanova, M., et al., 2004). However, these
methods have disadvantages such as losses of some volatile com-
pounds, low yield and degradation of target compounds (Lucchesi
et al., 2004). Microwave extraction, a relatively novel technique
that combines microwave and traditional solvent extraction, has
received increasing attention over the years due to its shorter
extraction time, higher yields of a target compound and less solvent
consumption (Vongsangnak, Gua, Chauvatcharin, & Zhong, 2004).
Solvent-free microwave extraction (SFME), one of the microwave
extraction methods, combines microwave heating and dry distil-
lation and performs in an atmospheric condition without any
addition of solvent or water required (Bayramoglu, Sahin, & Sumnu,
2008). On the other hand, HSME has been successfully applied for

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.lwt.2015.11.019
0023-6438/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Q. Chen et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545
the extraction of pectin from apple pomace (Wang et al., 2007),
orange peel (Liu, Wei, Guo, & Kennedy, 2006) and lime (Fishman,
Chau, Hoagland, & Hotchkiss, 2006).
The objective of this work is to establish a two-stage microwave
extraction process for pomelo peels and to study the effects of
microwave power, temperature, extraction time and solvent pH on
the yield of essential oil and pectin. The extraction efficiency of
SFME for essential oil and HSME for pectin will be compared with
that of the conventional extraction methods. The response surface
methodology was applied to optimize the condition of HSME for
pectin extraction. Structural changes of pomelo peels were
observed by optical microscope (OM) and scanning electron mi-
croscope (SEM) after the processes of SFME and HSME. The
mechanisms of mass transfer in microwave extraction were also
discussed.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Plant materials and reagents
Fresh Shatin pomelos (Teaka) were purchased from a local su-
permarket, then washed and peeled manually. The peel obtained
was about 40 g/100 g whole fruit weight. The peel materials were
cut into pieces of approximately 5  5  10 mm for immediate used
in the subsequent experiments. The initial moisture content of the
peels was 80.7 g/100 g total weight, as determined by a freeze-
drying method (Chảfer, Gonzảlez-Martỉnez, Chiralt, & Fito, 2003)
at 60
C in a freeze-dryer (Alpha 1-4 LD2 freeze dryer, Germany).
All reagents were of analytical grade and purchased from a local
chemical provider (Advanced Technology & Industrial Co. LTD,
Hong Kong).
2.2. Methods for the extraction of essential oils
According to the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (Tu, 1988), conven-
tional HD was conducted at 100
C for 180 min in a Clevenger
apparatus equipped with a heating jacket. The ratio of peel material
to water was 1:6. Essential oils were collected in amber-colored
vials, then dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and finally
stored at 4
C for further analysis. The mean yield of essential oils
was expressed as ml per 100 g of fresh peels ±S.D. (Standard De-
viation). All experiments at each condition were conducted in
triplicates.
SFME was performed using a focus microwave system, Model
961 (Microwave Power Consultants, VIC Australia). The power of
the microwave reactor can be continuously varied up to 1000 W,
and the system is equipped with a fiber-optical sensor for tem-
perature control and measurement during extraction. Microwave is
delivered from the generator to a cavity through a wave guide. The
power modulation unit is equipped with the wave guide to
modulate the output power levels. The power level reported in this
study is the output power from the system. The same Clevenger
apparatus used in HD was deployed here. 120 g fresh peels were
treated during each trial without adding any solvent. Three mi-
crowave power levels, 150, 300 and 450 W, were selected to eval-
uate the effect of microwave energy on the extraction of essential
oils. Extraction durations of 30 and 90 min were also used for
studying the effect of extraction time on the yield of essential oils.
The collection, treatment and storage of the obtained essential oils
were the same as aforementioned HD process.
2.3. Methods for the extraction of pectin
The conventional hot solvent extraction for pectin was per-
formed in a 500 mL flask by adding 10 g oil-free pomelo peels into
539
180 mL HCl aqueous solution at pH 2.0 and temperature 90
C for
90 min. After extraction, the samples were hot-filtered and
precipitated with 180 mL ethanol solution (95 ml/L) for 3 h. The
coagulated pectin was separated and rinsed with ethanol solution
(75 ml/L) and anhydrous ethanol. The treated samples were dried
at 60
C till constant weight. The pectin yield (%) was expressed in
terms of gram of collected pectin per 100 g of oil-free pomelo peel.
HSME was conducted in a similar manner but performed in the
same microwave system used for SFME excluding the Clevenger
apparatus. In order to find the optimum condition of HSME, the
response surface methodology (RSM) with the Box-Behnken
experiment design was applied. Based on our previous works,
only three major factors, microwave power, extraction time and
solvent pH, were selected in this study. The low, middle and high
levels were set as: 390, 520 and 650 W for microwave power; 3, 5
and 7 min for extraction time, and 1, 2, and 3 for solvent pH value,
respectively. A total of 15 experimental trials, including 12 factorial
points and three replicates at the center point, were conducted
(Table 3). The pure error sum of squares was estimated by Design-
Expert (Version 7.0, Stat-Ease, Inc., USA).
2.4. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identification
The composition of essential oils from the pomelo peels was
analyzed by GCeMS (7890A GC system e 5975 C VLMSD with
triple-axis detector, Agilent Technology, USA) equipped with a
fused-silica capillary column HP-5MS (30 m  0.25 mm  0.25 mm).
The GC conditions were: helium carrier (gas flow rate at 1.0 ml/
min; split at 0:1; injection volume of 1.0 ml; injection temperature
of 260
C); oven temperature (programmed from 50
C to 150
C for
15 min, holding for 4 min, and 150
C to 260
C for 10 min, holding
for 4 min); ionization mode (as electronic impact at 70 eV; ioni-
zation temperature of 230
C); MSE quadruple temperature of
150
C; transfer line temperature of 260
C; and solvent delay for
3 min. The components of the extracted essential oils were iden-
tified by comparing their mass spectral fragmentation patterns
with those stored in the MS database (National Institute of Stan-
dards and Technology 05 libraries).
2.5. Stability of essential oil
A stability study was performed in order to find out the effects of
microwave irradiation on essential oil. The experiments were per-
formed by treating 1.0 ml of essential oil extracted with HD method
under various processing conditions as shown in Table 1. The
amounts of essential oil before and after the treatment were
measured and compared.
2.6. Morphological analysis
After processed by HD and SFME, the microstructure of the
treated pomelo peel tissues was examined using optical micro-
scope (OM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM).
For a surface view of the tissues, samples were sliced into
extremely thin layers and observed directly by an optical micro-
scope (Olympus IX17, Japan) with a magnification of 40. For a cross-
sectional view, the specimens were freeze-dried in a freeze-dryer
(Alpha 1-4 LD2 freeze dryer, Germany) for 2 days, then mounted
on a specimen holder with tape and coated with Au using a sput-
tering coater (Gatan, model 861, Japan), and examined by a field-
emission SEM (Model JEOL-JSM6335F, Japan).
2.7. Statistical analysis
Yields of essential oil and pectin in different extraction
540 Q. Chen et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545

Table 1
Processing conditions for the stability study of essential oil from pomelo peels.

Treated conditions Microwave power (W) Temperature (
C) Duration (min)

1 0 100 30
2 0 100 90
3 0 106 30
4 0 106 90
5 400 100 30
6 400 100 90

Table 2
Chemical composition of essential oil obtained by SFME at three power levels for 90 min and by HD.

No. Resident time Compounds Mol. form Content (%) SFME at Content (%) SFME at Content (%) SFME at Content (%)
(min) 450 W 300 W 150 W HD

1 3.86 a-Pinene C10H16 0.28 0.67 0.43 0.45

2 4.26 b-Phellandrene C10H16 0.17 0.34 0.21 0.20
3 4.31 b-Pinene C10H16 0.35 0.65 0.36 0.53
4 4.38 b-Myrcene C10H16 2.07 3.69 1.53 2.49
5 4.83 Limonene C10H16 80.70 86.53 78.06 82.58
6 4.95 Cis-ocimene C10H16 0.39 0.55 0.39 0.46
7 5.44 Undecane C11H24 0.27 e 3.36 e
8 5.46 b-Linalool C10H18O 0.46 0.78 0.85 e
9 5.73 6-Isopropenyl-3-methyl-1-cyclohexen-1-ol C10H16O e e 0.08 e
10 6.31 Terpene-4-ol C10H18O e e 0.06 0.14
11 6.43 a-Terpineol C10H18O 0.20 0.20 0.27 e
12 6.80 ()-Carveol C10H16O 0.07 e 0.13 0.13
13 6.88 b-Citral C10H16O 0.11 0.12 e 0.46
14 7.17 a-Citral C10H16O 0.14 0.13 0.07 0.41
15 7.30 Perillaldehyde C10H14O e e e 0.07
16 8.04 d-elemene C15H24 0.17 0.13 0.18 e
17 8.04 (þ)-4-Carene C10H16 e e e 0.13
18 8.25 neryl acetate C12H20O2 0.16 0.15 0.22 0.16
19 8.52 geranyl acetate C12H20O2 0.31 0.26 0.44 0.30
20 8.83 b-Elemene C15H24 e e 0.15 0.17
21 8.88 Methyleugenol C11H14O2 0.12 0.08 0.18 e
22 9.38 Caryophyllene C15H24 0.22 0.17 0.29 0.24
23 10.57 Germacrene D C15H24 e 0.15 e 0.11
24 10.60 b-Cubebene C15H24 0.23 e e e
25 10.61 2-Isopropenyl-4a,8-dimethyl-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7- C15H24 e e e 0.13
octahydronaphthalene
26 10.82 Valencene C15H24 0.19 0.09 e e
27 10.82 b-Patchoulene C15H24 e e e 0.31
28 10.82 b-Panasinsene C15H24 e e 0.26 e
29 10.87 Selinene C15H24 0.06 e e 0.14
30 11.37 ()-a-Panasinsen C15H24 e 0.06 0.11 0.15
31 13.93 b-Neoclovene; C15H24 e 0.54 1.67 0.98
32 15.99 Solavetivone C15H22O e e 0.09 e
33 16.05 Nootkatone C15H22O 8.90 3.86 9.28 4.80
34 19.67 Osthole C15H16O3 0.05 e 0.04 e
Sum (% in total) 95.62 99.15 98.71 95.54

Table 3
Experimental setting using Box-Behnken design and the resulted yield of pectin extracted from oil-free pomelo peels by HSME.

Trail X1 microwave power (W) X2 extraction time (min) X3 pH value Y pectin yield (%)

1 650 5 3.0 0.18

2 650 3 2.0 2.15
3 390 3 2.0 0.85
4 520 7 1.0 2.67
5 390 5 3.0 0.05
6 650 5 1.0 2.69
7 390 7 2.0 2.10
8 520 3 1.0 1.15
9 520 5 2.0 2.71
10 520 7 3.0 0.06
11 520 5 2.0 2.93
12 520 3 3.0 0.06
13 390 5 1.0 2.17
14 520 5 2.0 2.92
15 650 7 2.0 2.06
 Q. Chen et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545 541

operations were statistically evaluated by analysis of variance 0.24

(ANOVA) using SAS (SAS version 9.0, SAS Institute Inc., USA). The

Yield of essenƟal oil

extracted (ml/100g)
0.2
optimization and statistical analysis of HSME conditions, as well as
the response surface graphs were achieved using Design-Expert. 0.16

0.12
3. Results and discussion
0.08
3.1. Stability of essential oil
0.04
As shown in Fig. 1, there is little change in the amount of
0
essential oil from the peels before and after treatments in condi-
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180
tions 1, 2, 5 and 6 as shown in Table 1. The results indicate that
ExtracƟon Ɵme (min)
microwave irradiation does not affect the quantity of essential oil at
the temperature of 100
C or below and microwave power of Fig. 2. Yields of essential oils extracted from pomelo peels by HD for 180 min and by
400 W. However, when the treatment temperature was increased SFME at different power levels for 30 min ( HD, SFME at 150 W, SFME at 300 W,
SFME at 450 W).
to 106
C, the amount of essential oil decreased from 1.0 ml to
0.25 ml at condition 3 and dropped to only 0.1 ml when the compounds when microwave power remained low. As shown in
treatment time was prolonged from 30 min to 90 min at the same Fig. 3, prolonging the extraction time to 90 min resulted in yields of
temperature (condition 4). The results confirm that thermal essential oil that were 33.7% and 20% higher than the extraction for
degradation of essential oil occurs at the extraction temperature of 30 min at microwave power of 150 and 300 W, respectively.
106
C or above. This finding suggests that the usage of extreme However, when the microwave power was at 450 W the yields
extraction condition, especially high temperature, may bring in were the same whether the extraction time was 30 min or 90 min.
negative effects such as thermal degradation of essential oil. As Thus, the extraction conditions at microwave power of 150 W for
such the study on SFME was restricted within the temperature 90 min would be appropriate for the extraction of essential oil from
range of 100e106
C. pomelo peels by SFME.

3.2. Extraction of essential oil by SFME 3.3. Composition of essential oil

In this study, essential oil of pomelo peel was extracted by SFME
at the first stage extraction. As shown in Fig. 2, SFME is obviously a
better method in terms of extraction efficiency and yield of
essential oil. Compared with that of HD for 180 min, the increasing
yields obtained by SFME at 30 min were up to 12.6% and 25.3% at
microwave power of 150 and 300 W, respectively. Moreover, in-
crease in microwave power can cause an earlier start of the
extraction, because when higher power was applied to the
extraction system, more energy would be transferred to the sample
matrix, thus improving yield of target compounds. However, little
increase in yield was obtained when higher microwave power
450 W was applied. The results imply that over certain microwave
power, further enhancement in extraction yield could not be
achieved.
The study on extraction time suggests that prolonging extrac-
tion time would be helpful to complete extraction of target
1.2
The chemical composition of the obtained essential oil was
studied using GCeMS analysis (Table 2). The essential oil extracted
from pomelo peels was mainly composed of limonene, b-Pinene,
Linalool, a-Terpineol, Nerolidol and ester compounds. Their per-
centage varied with different processing conditions. Limonene, a
monoterpene hydrocarbon, was the most abundant component
with 82.6% and 78.1e86.5% obtained by HD and SFME, respectively.
The percentage of Limonene increased with increasing microwave
power at low microwave power of 150 and 300 W but decreased at
high microwave power of 450 W. At low microwave power (150 and
300 W) the oxygenated fraction of the essential oil obtained by
SFME increased with increasing microwave power, the percentage
was up to 11.9%, higher than the 6.8% by HD; but at high microwave
power of 450 W, this percentage was lower than those obtained by
HD. In principle, oxygenated compounds are more valuable than
monoterpene hydrocarbon in terms of their contribution to the
fragrance of essential oil (Wang, Ding, et al., 2006; Wang, Wang,
et al., 2006). The finding suggests that SFME at low microwave
power may be a promising and effective technique for the

0.3
extracted from peels, ml/100g

1
The amount of essenƟal oil

0.25
0.8
essenƟal oil (ml)
The amount of

0.2
0.6
0.15

0.4
0.1

0.2 0.05

0
0
SFME at 150 W SFME at 300 W SFME at 450W
1 2 3 4 5 6
Treated condiƟons Microwave power (W)

Fig. 1. Stability study of essential oil extracted from fresh pomelo peels at different Fig. 3. Comparison of the yield of essential oil from pomelo peels by SFME at different
treatment conditions as stated in Table 1 ( before treatment, - after treatment). extraction conditions (- for 30 min, for 90 min).
542 Q. Chen et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545

Fig. 4. Response surface for effects of: (A) microwave power level and extraction time; (B) microwave power level and pH value; (C) extraction time and pH value on pectin yield
from oil-free pomelo peels.
 Q. Chen et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545 543

extraction of essential oils because of its higher yield and better
quality of essential oils when compared with HD. However, the
problem of thermal degradation should be considered at higher
microwave power.
3.4. Extraction of pectin by HSME
The pectin of oil-free pomelo peel was then extracted by SFME
at the second stage extraction. As aforementioned, the three fac-
tors, microwave power, extraction time and solvent pH value, were
selected. Table 3 shows the experimental conditions by Box-
Behnken design and the resulted pectin yield at various designed
points. The yield was found within the range of 0.05e2.93%. A
second-order polynomial model was built based on the data:
Pectin yield ð%Þ ¼ 2:85 þ 0:24x1 þ 0:34x2  1:04x3  0:34x1 x2
 0:10x1 x3  0:38x2 x3  0:39x21  0:68x32
 1:19x23
where x1 is the microwave power, x2 extraction time and x3 solvent
pH value, respectively. The coefficient of determination (R2) of this
model is 0.9887, and the lack of fit is 0.2216, which suggests a good
fit, and that the regression model can reasonably represent the

Fig. 5. Light surface view (A-C, 40) and Scanning electron micrographs (DeF) of pomelo peels: Untreated (A and D); HD samples (B and E); SFME samples (C and F).
544 Q. Chen et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545
observed values. Based on the results of ANOVA, the significance of
each coefficient was evaluated by F-test and p-value. The result
indicated that the variables that showed extremely significant ef-
fect with p < 0.01 on the pectin yield were extraction time (x2), pH
value (x3) and the quadratic term of these two variables. All other
variables showed significant effect with p < 0.05, except for the
interaction effect of microwave power and pH value (x1  x3) with
p > 0.05 as shown in Fig. 4. The pectin yield increased with
increasing microwave power from 390 W to 530 W, and slightly
decreased at the microwave power of 650 W. The same trend was
found for the effect of extraction time and solvent pH. The results
indicate that changes in pH value and extraction time had dramatic
effects on pectin yield, while microwave power displayed a signif-
icant quadratic effect.
3.5. Optimization of HSME condition
The optimization of HSME condition for the best pectin yield
was performed using the approach of graphical technique. The
optimum region (shaded) was obtained by superimposing contour
plots of pectin yield as functions of microwave power and extrac-
tion time (Fig. 4A), microwave power and pH value (Fig. 4B), and
extraction time and pH value (Fig. 4C). The results indicate that it is
possible to obtain a higher pectin yield at microwave power level of
520e585 W, extraction time of 5e6 min, and pH value of 1.3e1.7.
Under these conditions, the yields were expected to be more than
3.15%. Verification experiments were carried out at the selected
Fig. 6. Light micrographs of pomelo peels (cross section, 40): untreated (A); HD samples (B); SFME samples at different views (C and D).
optimum conditions with microwave power level of 520 W,
extraction time of 5.6 min and pH value of 1.5. The resultant average
yield was 3.29 ± 0.15%, which was in good agreement with the
findings obtained by graphical method. Compared with conven-
tional acidic solution extraction, whose pectin yield was 3.11% for
90 min, HSME can be an alternative extraction method for fast
extraction and better yield of pectin from oil-free pomelo peels, and
shows promising industrial applications.
3.6. Structural changes after extraction
Fig. 5B and E presents shrunken yet still intact oil sacs after HD
process at 100
C for 180 min. However, after SFME process at
microwave power 150 W for 90 min, as shown in Fig. 5C and F,
intact oil sacs were not observed and a messy surface appeared due
to the rupture of oil sacs. Such change is indicative of built up
pressure within the oil glands exceeding their capacity for expan-
sion, rupture readily when subjected to microwave irradiation. This
implies that microwave can really affect the structure of peel tissue
and cause surface changes, while the conventional extraction
methods cannot.
Fig. 6 shows two types of morphological changes observable
after microwave treatment. One type shows the undamaged gland
wall and the other portrays the fragments of gland walls as the
remaining trace of the ruptured cells. Actually, only 14e28% (by
vol.) of broken glands in pomelo peels was observed for microwave
power at 150 W and extraction time at 30 min. However, when the
 Q. Chen et al. / LWT - Food Science and Technology 66 (2016) 538e545
microwave power increased to 300 W, the percent volume of
broken glands increased to 42%. Meanwhile, shrunken oil glands
were also observed. The percentage of broken glands looked quite
similar when the samples were treated with microwave power of
300 W or 450 W for 30 min. The observation suggests that the
degree of oil sacs damage was greatly influenced by the microwave
power (150e300 W) and other processing parameters. On the other
hand, no further structural change occurred when microwave po-
wer was increased from 300 W to 450 W. The findings point to
microwave capability of enhancing the extraction through two
distinct mechanisms: improving diffusion across the intact oil
gland and boosting convection from a broken oil gland.
4. Conclusion
A two-stage process for microwave extraction of pomelo peels
has been studied. The first stage was to employ SFME for extraction
of essential oil from the fresh peels. SFME is obviously a more fitting
method than HD process for the extraction of essential oils in terms
of efficiency and product yield. The study on essential oil stability
indicated that SFME would not affect the oil composition. The
recommended operational conditions for SFME are at the micro-
wave power of 150 W and extraction time of 90 min. The oil-free
pomelo peels was then used for extraction of pectin by HSME as
the second stage process. Compared with the conventional acidic
solution extraction for 90 min, a higher extraction yield of 3.29%
was obtained by HSME at microwave power of 520 W, pH value of
2.0 and extraction time of 5.6 min. The micrographs from OM and
SEM indicated that two types of morphological changes were
observed after microwave irradiation, one type showing the un-
damaged oil gland and the other portraying the remaining of
ruptured cell walls. The proposed two-stage microwave extraction,
first by SFME for essential oil then by HSME for pectin, was
considered a feasible processing method for better process yield
and better utilization of biomaterials for food industry.
Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper was substantially supported by
the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Adminis-
trative Region, China (Project No.: 564507) and the Food Safety and
545
Technology Research Center at Hong Kong Polytechnic University
(Grant Code: 4-ZZDP).
References
Baser, K. H. C., & Buchbauer, G. (2010). Handbook of essential oils science, technology
and applications. Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis.
Başer, K. H. C., & Demirci, F. (2007). Chemistry of essential oils. In R. G. Berger (Ed.),
Flavors and fragrances: Chemistry, bioprocessing and sustainability (pp. 43e83).
Germany: Springer.
Bayramoglu, B., Sahin, S., & Sumnu, G. (2008). Solvent-free microwave extraction of
essential oil from oregano. Journal of Food Engineering, 88, 535e540.
Bousbia, N., Vian, M. A., Ferhat, M. A., Meklati, B. Y., & Chemat, F. (2009). A new
process for extraction of essential oil from citrus peels: microwave hydro-
diffusion and gravity. Journal of Food Engineering, 90, 409e411.
Chảfer, M., Gonzảlez-Martỉnez, C., Chiralt, A., & Fito, P. (2003). Microstructure and
vacuum impregnation response of citrus peels. Food Research International, 36,
35e41.
Fishman, M. L., Chau, H. K., Hoagland, P. D., & Hotchkiss, A. T. (2006). Microwave
assisted extraction of lime pectin. Food Hydrocolloids, 20, 1170e1177.
Francis, J. F. (2000). Wiley encyclopedia of food science and technology (2nd ed.). New
York: John Wiley & Sons.
Liu, Z. D., Wei, G. H., Guo, Y. C., & Kennedy, J. F. (2006). Image study of pectin
extraction from orange skin assisted by microwave. Carbohydrate Polymers, 64,
548e552.
Lucchesi, M. E., Chemat, F., & Smadja, J. (2004). Solvent-free microwave extraction of
essential oil from aromatic herbs: comparison with conventional hydro-distil-
lation. Journal of Chromatography A, 1043, 323e327.
Norziah, M. H., Fang, E. O., & Abd Karim, A. (2000). Extraction and characterization
of pectin from pomelo fruit peels. Gums and Stabilizers for the Food Industry, 10,
27e36.
Saikaew, W., Kaewsarn, P., & Saikaew, W. (2009). Pomelo peel: agricultural waste for
biosorption of admium ions from aqueous solutions. World Academy of Sciencem
Engineering and Technology, 56, 287e291.
Tu, G. (1988). Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China (English ed., p. A21).
The People’s Medical Publishing House.
Vongsangnak, W., Gua, J., Chauvatcharin, S., & Zhong, J. J. (2004). Towards efficient
extraction of notoginseng saponins from cultured cells of Panax notoginseng.
Biochemical Engineering Journal, 18, 115e120.
Wang, S. J., Chen, F., Wu, J. H., Wang, Z. F., Liao, X. J., & Hu, X. S. (2007). Optimization
of pectin extraction assisted by microwave from apple pomace using response
surface methodology. Journal of Food Engineering, 78, 693e700.
Wang, Z., Ding, L., Li, T., Zhou, X., Wang, L., Zhang, H., et al. (2006). Improved
solvent-free microwave extraction of essential oil from dried Cuminum cymi-
num L. and Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. Journal of Chromatography A, 1102,
11e17.
Wang, Z., Wang, L., Li, T., Zhou, X., Ding, L., Yu, Y., et al. (2006). Rapid analysis of
the essential oil from dried Illicium verum Hook. F. and Zingiber officinale
Rosc. by improved solvent-free microwave extraction with three types of
microwave-absorption medium. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 386,
1863e1868.