Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Hydroxytyrosol from Lactiplantibacillus plantarum Fermented Olive Leaves: Process Optimization and Bioactivity Assessment

Abstract

Olive leaves are important by-products for the recovery of phenolic compounds and extracts with high phenolic content using lactic acid bacteria during fermentation. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) strains as glucosidase-positive strains are starter cultures used to control the fermentation process. The main objective of the present work is to determine the most effective strain for the biodegradation of oleuropein to hydroxytyrosol using two L. plantarum strains for the fermentation of olive leaves. Box–Behnken experimental design was applied to determine the optimum ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions to obtain hydroxytyrosol-rich extract using the brine of the fermented leaves. L. plantarum ATCC 14917 (hydroxytyrosol; 126.89 ± 1.59 mg/L) strain showed higher oleuropeinolytic activity than L. plantarum ATCC-BAA 793 (85.93 ± 0.70 mg/L) in olive leaf brine. When the UAE method was applied, it was seen that the hydroxytyrosol concentration of samples that were inoculated with L. plantarum ATCC 14917 (362.29 ± 2.31 mg/L) compared to L. plantarum ATCC-BAA 793 (248.79 ± 4.14) increased. The optimum UAE conditions were determined as 30% amplitude-5 min-30% ethanol for ATCC 14917 and 45% amplitude-9 min-10% ethanol for BAA 793 strain. This study showed that the brines of fermented olive leaves with oleuropeinolytic strains can be considered high added value products.