## 4 Discussion  
This research utilized a central composite design to optimize the extraction process and determine the optimal conditions for extracting phenolic compounds from tomatoes and pumpkins grown on Lemnos Island, aiming to maximize total phenolic content. Additionally, this study verified the effectiveness of encapsulation in protecting these bioactive compounds from degradation during storage. The successful encapsulation of phenolic compounds from the extracts of Lemnian tomatoes and pumpkins (_Cucurbita moschata_) has notably enhanced the stability of phenolic-enriched bakery products. Nonetheless, evaluating their bioavailability is crucial to ascertain the commercial feasibility of these fortified products. With regards to the antioxidant activity evaluation, the ABTS assay is versatile as it can be used for testing both hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant systems. The minor discrepancies observed in the results from these assays under optimized conditions indicate that the phenolic compounds influencing free radical scavenging capacity tend to be hydrophilic. On the other hand, the DPPH assay is more suited for assessing hydrophobic systems [33]. The results of the present study were in accordance with previous studies that referred comparable results for tomato and pumpkin total phenolic content. Specifically, in the context of tomato extracts, the total phenolic content varied from 312.2 mg GAE per kg to 557.8 mg per kg of fresh tomato, following extraction with methanol. Correspondingly, the antioxidant activity, as measured by DPPH assay, ranged between 0.81 and 1.74 mmol Trolox per kg of fresh tomato, as documented by [PERSON] et al. [34]. Similarly, in the study conducted by [PERSON] et al. [35], the quantification of hydrophilic and lipophilic phenolic compounds yielded a concentration of 24.7 mg/100 g of fresh tomato. Comparable promising outcomes were observed in pumpkin extracts, where the phenolic compounds were quantified to be between 26.31 and 79.86 mg/100 g of fresh pumpkin in the investigation by [PERSON] et al. [36], while antioxidant activity ranged from 71.09 to 357.742 ug of Trolox per g of fresh pumpkin. Moreover, the study by [PERSON] et al. [37] reported total phenolic content of up to 97.4 mg/100 g of fresh pumpkin, alongside antioxidant activity measuring up to 0.065 and 0.074 umol Trolox per g of fresh pumpkin for DHHP and ABTS assays, respectively. Concerning total phenolic content (TPC), the data show that TPC in tomato extract exhibits a saddle-shaped response to ethanol concentration. At moderate ethanol levels (50% \(v/v\)), TPC tends to be higher. Higher ethanol concentrations (70% \(v/v\)) generally result in lower TPC, while moderate ethanol levels (50% \(v/v\)) are associated with higher TPC values. TPC generally increases with the extraction time but shows an optimum at 40 min for 50% ethanol concentration. Beyond 40 min, especially at higher ethanol concentrations, the TPC does not significantly increase and may even decrease. This saddle-shaped response indicates that there is an optimum ethanol concentration and extraction time that maximizes TPC in tomato extracts. For pumpkin extract, the data suggest that