Recycling of industrial essential oil waste: Brutieridin and Melitidin, two anticholesterolaemic active principles from bergamot albedo

Bergamot albedo, the white tissues between the skin and the pulp, is a polluting waste in the production of the renowned fragrance and is easily available by simple industrial processes. Brutieridin and melitidin are found in bergamot albedo and possess statin-like activity. Their anticholesterolaemic effect has been proved in vitro. Different procedures were exploited to assay the presence of brutieridin and melitidin and to evaluate their availability in water extracts. The best results in terms of simplicity and accessibility of the method were obtained with hot water at 65 °C. Interestingly, tea beverages enriched with the two active principles have been obtained by simple addition of dried albedo into commercial tea bags. This is the first report on the availability of methodologies to extract active principles from citrus albedo wastes.