Application of Pulsed Electric Field-Ultrasound Technique for Antioxidant Extraction from Yarrow: ANFIS Modeling and Evaluation of Antioxidant Activity

Oxidation reactions negatively impact the taste and shelf life of the oils. Antioxidants are commonly employed to mitigate the development of off-flavors and rancidity and thereby extend the shelf life of oil. In response to consumers’ increasing demand for healthy foods, there is a notable focus on incorporating naturally sourced antioxidants. Yarrow plant is a good source of natural antioxidants which could be used in improving the quality of the oils. Therefore, in this study, adaptive ANFIS was employed to investigate the extraction of antioxidant compounds from the yarrow plant using the pulsed electric field-ultrasound method. The extraction process was performed at varying pulsed electric field intensities (0.25, 3.25, and 6.25 kV/cm) and different ultrasound durations (20, 40, and 60 minutes). Then, the impact of incorporating the plant extract on the oxidation parameters of sesame oil was assessed during storage. Results demonstrated that the extraction efficiency consistently increased with rising pulsed electric field intensity and ultrasound treatment time. However, the levels of total phenol, DPPH, and ascorbic acid content initially increased and then decreased at higher pulsed electric field intensity during longer ultrasound treatment. Furthermore, an increase in acidity and thiobarbituric acid index was found during prolonged storage time, while the peroxide level in the samples peaked on the 5th day of storage before declining. The high correlation coefficients between experimental results and model outputs underscored the models’ accuracy, representing their efficacy in controlling the extraction conditions using the pulsed electric field intensity-ultrasound extraction method and utilizing the extract in sesame oil.