Evaluation of Citrus limon Peel Waste as a Source of Anti-obesity Agents

Nowadays, the growing social awareness for the consumption of healthy and value-added nutrition prompts the production of functional foods and various dietary supplements. Phenolic compounds have been recognized as excellent supplements in the production of functional foods and as substitutes for the synthetic additives used due to their numerous beneficial effects on human health.1 For example, many studies are dedicated to plant extracts containing phenolic constituents as inhibitors of metabolic enzymes, such as α-amylase, α-glucosidase and gastrointestinal lipase. These enzymes, generally involved in carbohydrates and triglycerides metabolism, are targeted in developing hypoglycemic and anti-obesity agents to develop pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter drugs. Citrus limon is a species with valuable cosmetic and healthy food properties and broader pharmacological actions.2 Lemon peel accounts for 50-65% of the whole fruit weight, representing the principal by-product. However, citrus peels have the highest flavonoid contents of the whole fruits combined with other phenolics, known as health-promoting compounds.3 This work aims to evaluate lemon bio-wastes potential anti-obesity effects to develop a plant-derived nutraceutical to prevent and manage obesity. This goal will be pursued by evaluating different extraction procedures (maceration, microwave- and ultrasound-assisted extraction) to optimize the recovery of lipase inhibitors. HPLC-based activity profiling in combination with column fractionation and spectroscopic analysis will allow the identification of the bioactive constituents.