Aplicación de un diseño factorial 2³ en la extracción asistida por microondas y evaluación de la actividad antioxidante de los compuestos presentes en frutos de Vaccinium meridionale.

Blueberry (Vaccinium meridionale) forms part of the family Ericaceae; it is a fruit rich in flavonoids and anthocyanins (polyphenols), which have antioxidant properties and also shows some properties suitable for inhibition of free radicals. A 2³ factorial design was performed to investigate the variables effects: temperature, time and the ethanol percentage %, on the antioxidants extraction process by Microwave Assisted Extraction (MAE). The extraction conditions were: temp (343.15-383.15 K), time (5-15 min), ethanol (0- 80%). A factorial design was performed, with a total of 8 experiments, allowing to determine the influence of the relation of the variables related to the extraction process of compounds with antioxidant activity by DPPH· method, getting a first order factorial model with interactions and a 100% reliability level and a R² =1. The experimental design and evaluation of the results were performed with the software R Studio? free version. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]