No abstract

The root of a ginseng-like plant named Codonopsis javanica is a valuable ingredient in folk medicine with diverse biological properties and has been used in treatments for various diseases, including leukemia, inflammation, and hepatitis. This study aimed to optimize various parameters related to the extraction process of C. javanica root (CJR) with respect to total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content, and antioxidant activities of the obtained CJR extract. We first performed a series of single-factor investigations taking drying conditions and different extraction parameters such as material size, extraction solvent, solvent concentration, extraction temperature, material/solvent ratio, extraction cycle, and stirring speed as varying factors. Then, a response surface methodology procedure was adopted with a central composite design to optimize further the extraction process in order to maximize the TPC. We found that the use of convection drying at 70 °C for 8 hours gave the extract with the highest TPC and antioxidant activities. Optimal extraction parameters were found as follows: ethanol with a concentration of 56.0% as the solvent, material-to-solvent ratio of 1/38.0 g/mL, extraction time of 67.2 minutes, material size ≤0.5 mm, temperature 60 °C, through 1 extraction cycle, and with a stirring speed of 300 rpm. Under the optimized conditions, the experimental value for TPC was 2.9 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g dry weight (DW), which is reasonably close to the value predicted by the model (2.8 mg GAE/g DW). The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values determined by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid free radical tests of the CJR extract obtained under optimal conditions were 1042.3 and 299.0 µg/mL, respectively.

Essential oils (EOs) have gained much media attention in recent years because of their advantages in various fields, including food preservation, pharmaceuticals, herbal medicine, and natural therapies. Phenolic components which exhibit antimicrobial activity, along with some healthy substances, are present abundantly in essential oils, hence their use to prevent bacterial growth. Oranges are amongst the world’s most popular fruits. Orange (Citrus sinensis) is widely recognized for its nutritious and medicinal properties. Since time immemorial, most parts of the orange plant from fruits, peels, flowers, leaves and juice are used as traditional medicine. Hydrodistillation (HD) and solvent free microwave extraction (SFME) were used to extract essential oils from orange fruit peels. The total volatile compound yield is obtained from 98-100% by HD and SFME. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that the oils obtained from both method contained limonene (98.238% and 98.415, β-myrcene (1.169% and 1.172%) and α-pinene (0.548% and 0.413%). A small amount of sabinene (0.071%) and β- pinene (0.0032%) were only found in SFME-produced orange essential oil. The essential oils obtained from the two extraction methods were able to inhibit against Bacillus cereus.

Study on kinetics and modeling of the essential oil steam distillation are required for the optimization of the energy requirement, parameters and the process scale-up. In this study, hydrodistillation for extraction of essential oils from lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) steam distillation was investigated. The recovery of essential oils was carried out on an industrial scale instrument and with with different material quantities. The experimental results are determined by the integral method of analysis. The kinetic parameters were evaluated from experimental data, which were generated at the different weights of the lemongrass. The extraction rate constant explaining the extraction efficiency achieved from this study is found to be k2 of 0.0661 min-1 in 710 kg using a second-order kinetic model. The GC/MS results revealed that 14 components were identified in Cymbopogon citratusoils. The oil is extremely rich in citral (69.775%), which obtained in 180 min.