The study of the calendula flowers extraction process

Abstract

This article presents the results of the study of the process of extraction of biologically active sub- (alcohols, water, glycerol, oilsCalendula tincture is a well known drug that is in constant demand from buyers due to low prices and a wide range of the pharmacological action. Pot marigold possesses the anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, wound healing, spasmolytic, hypotensive and sedative properties, increases the metabolic function of the liver. A wide therapeutic activity of calendula is explained by the presence of a considerable number of carotenoids, flavonoids, salicylic acid, vitamins and other compounds [8][9][10][11].At chemical and pharmaceutical enterprises Calendula tincture is obtained by simple maceration or percolation with 70° ethanol [1,3].These methods of tincture production do not meet modern requirements since the time required to obtain the finished product is long enough, and the plant raw material is exhausted only by 70% [2,3,5,7].Pressure enhanced solvent extraction takes the conventional solvent based extraction technology to a new level. This extraction technology effectively combines the use of solvents and elevated pressures to provide superior yields of high quality extracts from naturally occurring materials [4].Extraction is carried out by the combined effect of compression/decompression and forced percolation of the solvent under pressure through the raw material layer. The extraction cycle alternates between dynamic phases obtained via a programmed pressure and static phases for transfer of the desired extract into the solvent [4, 6,12].Experimental Part Calendula flowers (Calendula officinalis L) were selected as the study subjects [2,10].The process of extraction of calendula flowers by pressurized solvent extraction (PSE) was investigated, and the technology for obtaining of calendula tincture using a 0.5 l Timatic Micro extractor was developed.The experiments on studying the effects of the particles size, the extraction time and the number of the working cycles on the yield of extractive substances were conducted.To study the effect of the extraction time on the yield of extractives 50±0.5 g of the powdered calendula flowers was loaded in the extractor, filled with 70 o ethyl alcohol (the ratio of the raw material to the extractant was 1:10), left for 1 hour for swelling and then extracted for 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420 min. The parameters of the extraction process are shown in Tab. 1.While studying the effect of the number of working cycles on the yield of extractives the following parameters of extraction given in Tab. 2 were used.After extraction the resulting extract was drained and clarified for 48 hours in the refrigerator at 8-10°C. Then the extract was filtered, and a dry residue was obtained.The samples obtained were tested according to the requirements specified in analytical normative documents (AND) [2,10]. Results and DiscussionThe completeness and speed of extraction of the active ingredients from the plant raw material depend on technological properti...