Avocado is a nutrient-dense fruit that contains about twenty different types of vitamins and useful minerals. According to the ‘Global Avocado Market Report 2020’, the worldwide avocado turnover has been forecasted to reach about 18 billion USD in 2025 from about 13 billion USD in 2019. The fruit contains a large seed of about 13-18% of the whole fruit's size. People consume the soft creamy portion of the fruits and the seeds are trashed as waste. While somewhat preliminary research works have been reported specifying the therapeutic effects of the seed powder and/or its uses as a facial mask, hair/skin conditioner but the seed husk (testa) is still thrown away as a waste of waste. As a part of our ongoing research on the identification, isolation, and characterization of medicinally privileged and/or industrially significant phytochemicals from neglected botanicals and waste herein we report a bioactivity-guided extraction of avocado testa in ethanol and subsequent HPLC-Q-TOF mass spectral analyses (positive and negative ion modes) of the ethanolic extract derived from the avocado testa. We have identified a wide range of biologically relevant molecules including drugs, drug precursors, and druglike molecules in the ethanolic extract. The presence of a few industrially important compounds has also been identified. Developing a new direction for the effective consumption of neglected botanicals and waste materials would unquestionably reduce the overall waste content and more importantly may find its way of transforming trash into treasures.

Analysis of the ethanol extract of avocado (<i>Persea americana</i>) seed husk (testa) by tandem HPLC/Q-TOF-MS procedure

ACS Fall 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.

Analysis of the ethanol extract of avocado (Persea americana) seed husk (testa) by tandem HPLC/Q-TOF-MS procedure