Value-Added from Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Musa Sapientum Waste As an Alternative Safe and Effective Agent for the Treatment of Hyperpigmentation

Annually, a great number of bananas are produced, and those that do not satisfy commercialization criteria are discarded, resulting in a considerable amount of agricultural waste. This work aimed at valorizing rejected unripe Musa sapientum fruit by microwave-assisted extraction using glycerol-ethanol mixtures for development of cosmeceuticals. The fruit extract exhibited potent radical scavenging activity towards 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) assays in a concentration-dependent manner. Ferric reducing power was 199.13 μM FeSO4/mg extract. Total phenolic content was 39 mg gallic acid equivalent/100 g extract and total flavonoid content was 26 mg quercetin equivalent/100 g extract. Vitamin C and E contents of the extract were 10.47 and 4.77 mg/100 g, respectively. The extract demonstrated strong antibacterial activity against a wide range of pathogenic bacteria. The extract significantly reduced nitric oxide production in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells (p < 0.05). Biocompatibility assessment of the extract with L929 murine fibroblast cells demonstrated no toxic effects. In the next series of experiments, a commercial prototype was developed. M. sapientum-loaded serum significantly inhibited DPPH scavenging activity with a value of 50.62