Ultrasonic-assisted extraction of anthraquinones from Heterophyllaea pustulata Hook f. (Rubiaceae) using ethanol-water mixtures

In this study, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) was evaluated as an easier and more efficient alternative method for the isolation of anthraquinones (AQs) from Heterophyllaea pustulata Hook f. (Rubiaceae), compared with conventional extraction techniques. The extraction was performed using an ethanol-water solution as solvent. The influence of different operating conditions, as temperature, time, solvent composition and solvent/sample ratio and its relationship with ultrasonic techniques was analyzed. For this purpose and to achieve global optimization of the ultrasound-assisted extraction of H. pustulata, Taguchi experimental design with a L9 orthogonal array was applied. The results showed that the yield obtained with the ultrasound assisted extraction is approximately twice higher than the traditional Soxhlet technique, and Taguchi analysis demonstrated that the most influential factor is solvent concentration, followed by time, temperature and solvent/sample ratio. The solvent composition effect is directly related to cavitation process, and the effect of solvent physical properties on it. The optimal combination of these factors on the ultrasound assisted extraction is a solvent composition 60% v/v of ethanol, a solvent/sample ratio equal to 20:1, a temperature of 55 ºC and an extraction time of 30 min.Fil: Barrera Vazquez, Maria Fernanda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnológico Bahia Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingenieria Quimica (i). Grupo Vinculado Al Plapiqui - Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnologia Quimica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Comini, Laura Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Martini, Raquel Evangelina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnológico Bahia Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingenieria Quimica (i). Grupo Vinculado Al Plapiqui - Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnologia Quimica; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Núñez Montoya, Susana Carolina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Bottini, Susana Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnológico Bahia Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingenieria Quimica (i). Grupo Vinculado Al Plapiqui - Investigación y Desarrollo en Tecnologia Quimica; ArgentinaFil: Cabrera, Jose Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentin