US-12622451-B2 - Grape seed extracts and related systems and methods of manufacture

US12622451B2US 12622451 B2US12622451 B2US 12622451B2US-12622451-B2

Abstract

Grape seed extract compositions and related systems and methods for manufacture are provided. The methods can include obtaining a grape seed extract source material; filtering the grape seed extract source material to obtain a first retentate and a first permeate; drying the first retentate to obtain a first grape seed extract having a first mean degree of polymerization; filtering the first permeate to obtain a second retentate and a second permeate; drying the second retentate to obtain a second grape seed extract having a second mean degree of polymerization less than the first mean degree of polymerization; purifying the second permeate to obtain a purified liquid; and drying the purified liquid to obtain a third grape seed extract having a third mean degree of polymerization less than the second mean degree of polymerization.

Inventors

Mark A. Kelm
Peter Park

Assignees

E. & J. GALLO WINERY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230327

Claims (6)

1 . A system for processing a grape seed extract, the system comprising: a source for a grape seed extract source material; a first filter configured to filter the grape seed extract source material to obtain a first retentate and a first permeate; a first dryer configured to dry the first retentate to obtain a first grape seed extract comprising a first mean degree of polymerization; a second filter configured to filter the first permeate to obtain a second retentate and a second permeate; a second dryer configured to dry the second retentate to obtain a second grape seed extract comprising a second mean degree of polymerization less than the first mean degree of polymerization; a purifier configured to purify the second permeate to obtain a purified liquid; and a third dryer configured to dry the purified liquid to obtain a third grape seed extract comprising a third mean degree of polymerization less than the second mean degree of polymerization.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first filter comprises an ultrafiltration filter having a molecular weight cutoff from about 80,000 Daltons to about 250,000 Daltons.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the second filter comprises an ultrafiltration filter having a molecular weight cutoff from about 800 Daltons to about 5,000 Daltons.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first dryer, the second dryer, or the third dryer comprises a refractance window dryer.
5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the purifier comprises a resin column configured to perform an adsorption-elution process to remove sugar and organic acid from the second permeate.
6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising at least one concentrator configured to concentrate at least one of the first retentate, the second retentate, or the purified liquid.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates generally to grape seed extracts and systems and methods for producing the same. BACKGROUND Grape (Vitis spp.) seed extracts (GSEs) contain chemical compounds known as phenolics. Phenolic compounds can be defined structurally as possessing an aromatic ring with at least one hydroxyl group. Phenolics with multiple aromatic rings and hydroxyl groups can be referred to as polyphenols. Major classes of polyphenols include lignans, stilbenes, and flavonoids (e.g., flavanols). Polymers of flavanol monomers (e.g., catechin and epicatechin) can be referred to as tannins, condensed tannins, or proanthocyanidins (PAs). Sixteen types of proanthocyanidins commonly occur in woody and some herbaceous plants. The grape berry contains two proanthocyanidin types: procyanidins (catechin, epicatechin, and epicatechin gallate subunits) and prodelphinidins (at least one gallocatechin subunit). Procyanidins can reside in seeds whereas procyanidins and prodelphinidins can both reside in skins. Grape proanthocyanidins can be characterized based on their degree of polymerization (DP), degree of galloylation (DG), subunit composition, branching, and interflavan bond linkage types. There are two types of interflavan bonds, B-type and A-type, joining subunits through C—C and C—O—C bonds, respectively linked. Cyclic proanthocyanidins may also exist. Proanthocyanidins can be present in other plant-based materials, including but not limited to: acacia, açaí, almond, apple, aronia, blueberry, buckwheat, cacao, cranberry, cinnamon, current, grapes, hops, legumes, litchi, oak, pine bark, peanut, persimmon, plum, quebracho, sorghum, tea, and wine. The present disclosure provides novel grape seed extract compositions and related systems and methods for manufacture that overcome many of the challenges and limitations in the art. The compositions of the present disclosure can possess various levels of astringency and/or flavor characteristics, and can provide health or nutraceutical benefits. The present disclosure further provides systems and methods for converting a grape seed extract source material into a set of grape seed compositions, with each composition having a high monomer content, high oligomer content, or high polymer content. The systems and methods used to produce the compositions can utilize sequential membrane filtration, adsorption-elution purification, and refractance window drying, among other techniques. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a method for processing a grape seed extract. In some embodiments, the method comprises: obtaining a grape seed extract source material; filtering the grape seed extract source material to obtain a first retentate and a first permeate; drying the first retentate to obtain a first grape seed extract including a first mean degree of polymerization (e.g., from about 4.1 to about 5.3); filtering the first permeate to obtain a second retentate and a second permeate; drying the second retentate to obtain a second grape seed extract including a second mean degree of polymerization less than the first mean degree of polymerization (e.g., from about 2.2 to about 2.7); purifying the second permeate to obtain a purified liquid; and drying the purified liquid to obtain a third grape seed extract including a third mean degree of polymerization less than the second mean degree of polymerization (e.g., from about 1.2 to about 1.4). In certain embodiments, the grape seed extract source material is produced using a hot-water extraction process and a pectinase enzyme; or is produced using at least one of tannase or an acid additive. In other embodiments, filtering the grape seed extract source material comprises using an ultrafiltration filter having a molecular weight cutoff from about 80,000 Daltons to about 200,000 Daltons. In certain embodiments, drying the first retentate comprises concentrating the first retentate; or filtering the first permeate comprises using an ultrafiltration filter having a molecular weight cutoff from about 800 Daltons to about 5,000 Daltons. In still further embodiments, drying the second retentate comprises concentrating the second retentate; or purifying the second permeate comprises performing an adsorption-elution process to remove sugar and organic acid from the second permeate. In specific embodiments, the adsorption-elution process is performed using a resin column. In other embodiments, the purified liquid comprises catechin and epicatechin, and wherein a combination of the catechin and the epicatechin is present in the purified liquid from about 20% to about 41%, by weight, on a dry basis. In certain embodiments, drying the purified liquid comprises concentrating the purified liquid; or drying at least one of the first retentate, the second retentate, or the purified liquid comprises using a refractance window dryer. In some embodiments, the first mean degree of polymerization is great