Different organic solvents (ethanol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and acetone) were studied for their effects on the extraction efficiency of glabridin and total flavonoids (TF) from Glycyrrhiza glabra roots. The extract yield of Glycyrrhiza glabra roots was in the range of 3% to 6% following the extraction efficiency in the order ethanol>acetone>ethyl acetate>dichloromethane. A higher extraction yield of TF and glabridin was obtained with dichloromethane, followed by ethyl acetate, acetone and ethanol, indicating that the non-polar solvents help in optimal extraction of TF and glabridin. We also demonstrate for the first time, that the extraction efficiency of the flavonoids is not significantly affected by the use of the recovered solvents except in case of ethanol which reflects that the moistureabsorbing capacity of the solvent dictates the extraction efficiency of such compounds. The glycyrrhizin content in all the extract types was rather low (0.1 % to 1%) except for extract prepared with water, where the glycyrrhizin content was ~10% as expected since glycyrrhizin is a polar compound. Interestingly, we observed that ethyl acetate selectively isolated only glabridin with no traces of glycyrrhizin, which is a finding reported for the first time.

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