Pressurized liquid extraction of Aglaonema sp. iminosugars: Chemical composition, bioactivity, cell viability and thermal stability

Pressurized liquid extraction of Aglaonema sp. iminosugars has been optimized. A single cycle under optimal conditions (80 mg, 100 °C, 2 min) was enough to extract ⩾96% of most iminosugars. Further incubation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae for 5 h removed coextracted interfering low molecular weight carbohydrates from extracts of different Aglaonema cultivars. A complete characterization of these extracts was carried out by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: three iminosugars were tentatively identified for the first time; α-homonojirimycin and 2,5-dideoxy-2,5-imino-d-mannitol were the major iminosugars determined. α-Glucosidase inhibition activity, cell viability and thermal stability of Aglaonema extracts were also evaluated. Extracts with IC50 for α-glucosidase activity in the 0.010-0.079 mg mL−1 range showed no decrease of Caco-2 cell viability at concentrations lower than 125 μg mL−1 and were stable at 50 °C for 30 days. These results highlight the potential of Aglaonema extracts as a source of bioactives to be used as functional ingredients.