ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Calliandra grandiflora flowers as a promising source of cyanidin-3-O-glucoside using cryoconcentration-centrifugation

Marco Aurelio Flores-Hernández, Andrea Torres-Alcalá, and Arturo Navarro-Ocaña

Department of Food and Biotechnology, Faculty of Chemistry, National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico

E-mail: arturono@unam.mx

Received: 12 February 2026  Accepted: 9 May 2026

Abstract:

Calliandra grandiflora flowers were evaluated as a source of cyanindin-3-O-glucoside (C3G) using non-thermal process based on cryoconcentration assisted by centrifugation. This approach allowed for concentration and refinement of phenolic compounds in three consecutive cycles (C1, C2, and C3), and their recovery from diluted fractions using resins. The amount of all bioactive compounds analyzed in this study increased progressively: the total phenol content (TPC) was 5.16 times higher, and the total content of flavonoids (TFC) improved by 5.21 times in comparison to their initial concentrations. The most significant enhancement was observed for the total anthocyanin content (TAC), which increased by a factor of 6.96, from 0.225 mg C3G/mL in C1 to 1.567 mg C3G/mL in C3. Additionally, HPLC-UV analysis showed that the C3G content was maintained at 92–95% (w/v) throughout all cryoconcentration cycles. The initial C3G concentration of 0.206 mg/mL increased to 1.444 mg/mL in C3, representing a 7-fold increase, and it accounted for 87.19% of the total anthocyanins recovered via the cold extraction process. Similarly, additional 3.02% of TAC was recovered from the D2-D3 fractions using polymeric adsorbent resins (AmberLite™ XAD™ 7HP). In other words, cryoconcentration assisted by centrifugation guarantees conservation of C3G with global recovery yield at 90.21%. These findings support the feasibility of the procedure that is efficient, scalable, and compatible with thermosensitive metabolites, establishing Calliandra grandiflora as a promising source of C3G for developing bioactive functional ingredients with applications in the food and nutraceutical industries.

Keywords: Cyanidin-3-O-glucoside; Calliandra grandiflora; Cryoconcentration; Centrifugation; Anthocyanins

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-026-05040-9

Chemical Papers 80 (9) 10729–10739 (2026)