| Summary: | "Superfruits” is the terminology used in the media to refer to fruits with high neutraceutical value. Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) is an example of a superfruit due to its high levels of vitamins, antioxidants and carotenoids. Indeed, the consumption of the phytochemicals found in sea buckthorn may reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases. Currently, the consumption of sea buckthorn is low due to sensory properties that have failed to gain the acceptance of consumers. Over the past decades, there has been an increasing awareness that plants are providers of high value phytochemicals and this initiated the investigation towards the phytochemicals content of sea buckthorn. Despite over twenty years of research on sea buckthorn, there is currently no general processing model to fractionate the plant into multiple products as a source for certain phytochemicals. This thesis examines the use of environmentally benign extraction methods to fractionate multiple products from sea buckthorn berries and the high volumes of by-products created during fruit processing and harvesting. Juice oil, juice concentrate and aroma fraction were fractionated from sea buckthorn berries using a combination of enzymatic, thermal and physical separation processes. By-products such as leaves accumulated during harvesting and pomace retained during fruit processing were processed using supercritical CO2 to create a source of leaf wax, pulp and seed oil. Each of these products generated were chemically characterised for their high value phytochemicals using a series of different analytical techniques. A diverse array of high value phytochemicals was identified in each product generated of which all have a broad application in cosmetic, neutraceutical, food and beverage formulations. This study has added value to sea buckthorn which is currently underutilised but is becoming increasingly important in many parts of the world.
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