Abstract A supercritical fluid extraction (SC-CO2) was used to extract high-quality oil from tomato skin by-products. The effects of pressure and extraction time on oil yield was investigated in the study. Lycopene and β-carotene content as well as p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, vanillic acid, epicatechin, naringenin, catechin, quercetin and luteolin were estimated. The highest oil yield of 79.00% was obtained after 80 min with a pressure of 550 bar. The resulting oleoresin in carotenoids with lycopene and β-carotene content respectively of 0.86 and 1.5 mg/100 g, this oleoresin was found to be the richest. Naringenin was the most abundant flavonoid identified with a maximum content in oleoresin extracted at 550 bar (84.04 mg/kg DW) followed by caffeic acid (26.60 mg/kg DW). A moderate radical scavenging potential was further observed. Overall, results highlight that pressure is a key parameter for the extraction bioactive oleoresin from tomato skin by-products.

The present study shows for the first time the phenolic composition and the in vitro properties (antioxidant and inhibition of nitric oxide production) of Hypericum calabricum Sprengel collected in Italy. The content of hypericins (hypericin and pseudohypericin), hyperforin, flavonoids (rutin, hyperoside, isoquercetrin, quercitrin, quercetin and biapigenin) and chlorogenic acid of H. calabricum, have been determined. The ethyl acetate fraction from the aerial parts of H. calabricum exhibited activity against the radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) with IC50 value of 1.6 jig/ml. The test for inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production was performed using the murine monocytic macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. The ethyl acetate fraction had significant activity with an IC50 value of 102 jig/ml and this might indicate that it would have an anti-inflammatory effect in vivo.