Enzyme-assisted recovery of phenolic compounds from broccoli waste with antioxidant and antihyperglycemic activities evaluated through in vitro and molecular docking studies

The zero-waste strategy encompasses several Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on using and managing resources to produce value-added compounds. Broccoli waste represents a valuable and underutilized source of phenolic compounds, renowned for their diverse bioactive properties. This study employed an innovative enzyme-assisted extraction (EAE) method as a green and efficient alternative for obtaining these bioactive compounds without compromising their composition and functionality. The objective of this research was to harness sustainable technology to extract phenolic compounds from broccoli waste, maximizing their potential bioactivities. The EAE, specifically the commercial enzymatic preparation (Pectinase with polygalacturonase activity of 100 U g⁻¹), exhibited a high extraction efficiency of phenolic compounds (14.53 mg GAE g⁻¹) and flavonoids (7.63 mg QE g⁻¹), with an antioxidant activity of 95.33 %. Flavonoid glycosides demonstrated molecular docking interactions (≤−8.0 kcal mol⁻¹) with the catalytic amino acids of α-amylase and DPP-4. This provides a scheme to indicate the source and extraction method to obtain compounds of importance as therapeutic alternatives in chronic degenerative diseases. The findings highlight the potential application of these phenolic compounds as functional food additives, capable of scavenging free radicals and regulating postprandial blood glucose levels.