Huiyan Gu

An approach for extraction of kernel oil from Pinus pumila using homogenate-circulating ultrasound in combination with an aqueous enzymatic process and evaluation of its antioxidant activity.

In this study, a novel approach involving homogenate-circulating ultrasound in combination with aqueous enzymatic extraction (H-CUAEE) was developed for extraction of kernel oil from Pinus pumila. Following comparison of enzyme types and concentrations, an enzyme mixture consisting of cellulase, pectinase and hemicellulase (1:1:1, w/w/w) at a concentration of 2.5% was selected and applied for effective oil extraction and release. Several variables potentially influencing extraction yields, namely, homogenization time, incubation temperature, incubation time, mark-space ratio of ultrasound irradiation, ultrasound irradiation power, liquid-solid ratio, pH and stirring rate, were optimized by Plackett-Burman design. Among the eight variables, incubation temperature, incubation time and liquid-solid ratio were statistically significant and were further optimized by Box-Behnken design to predict optimum extraction conditions and ascertain operability ranges for maximum extraction yield. Under optimum operating conditions, extraction yields of P. pumila kernel oil were 31.89±1.12% with a Δ5-unsaturated polymethylene interrupted fatty acid content of 20.07% and an unsaturated fatty acid content of 93.47%. Our study results indicate that the proposed H-CUAEE process has enormous potential for efficient and environmentally friendly extraction of edible oils.

An approach of ionic liquids/lithium salts based microwave irradiation pretreatment followed by ultrasound-microwave synergistic extraction for two coumarins preparation from Cortex fraxini

Ionic liquids/lithium salts solvent system was successfully introduced into the separation technique for the preparation of two coumarins (aesculin and aesculetin) from Cortex fraxini. Ionic liquids/lithium salts based microwave irradiation pretreatment followed by ultrasound-microwave synergy extraction (ILSMP-UMSE) procedure was developed and optimized for the sufficient extraction of these two analytes. Several variables which can potentially influence the extraction yields, including pretreatment time and temperature, [C4mim]Br concentration, LiAc content, ultrasound-microwave synergy extraction (UMSE) time, liquid-solid ratio, and UMSE power were optimized by Plackett-Burman design. Among seven variables, UMSE time, liquid-solid ratio, and UMSE power were the statistically significant variables and these three factors were further optimized by Box-Behnken design to predict optimal extraction conditions and find out operability ranges with maximum extraction yields. Under optimum operating conditions, ILSMP-UMSE showed higher extraction yields of two target compounds than those obtained by reference extraction solvents. Method validation studies also evidenced that ILSMP-UMSE is credible for the preparation of two coumarins from Cortex fraxini. This study is indicative of the proposed procedure that has huge application prospects for the preparation of natural products from plant materials.

Optimization of ultrasonic circulating extraction of samara oil from Acer saccharum using combination of Plackett-Burman design and Box-Behnken design.

In this study, ultrasonic circulating extraction (UCE) technique was firstly and successfully applied for extraction of samara oil from Acer saccharum. The extraction kinetics were fitted and described, and the extraction mechanism was discussed. Through comparison, n-hexane was selected as the extraction solvent, the influence of solvent type on the responses was detailedly interpreted based on the influence of their properties on the occurrence and intensity of cavitation. Seven parameters potentially influencing the extraction yield of samara oil and content of nervonic acid, including ultrasound irradiation time, ultrasound irradiation power, ultrasound temperature, liquid-solid ratio, soaking time, particle size and stirring rate, were screened through Plackett-Burman design to determine the significant variables. Then, three parameters performed statistically significant, including liquid-solid ratio, ultrasound irradiation time and ultrasound irradiation power, were further optimized using Box-Behnken design to predict optimum extraction conditions. Satisfactory yield of samara oil (11.72±0.38%) and content of nervonic acid (5.28±0.18%) were achieved using the optimal conditions. 1% proportion of ethanol in extraction solvent, 120°C of drying temperature and 6.4% moisture were selected and applied for effective extraction. There were no distinct differences in the physicochemical properties of samara oil obtained by UCE and Soxhlet extraction, and the samara oil obtained by UCE exhibited better antioxidant activities. Therefore, UCE method has enormous potential for efficient extraction of edible oil with high quality from plant materials.

Brönsted acidic ionic liquid based ultrasound-microwave synergistic extraction of pectin from pomelo peels

3-Methyl-1-(4-sulfonylbutyl) imidazolium hydrogensulfate, [HO3S(CH2)4mim]HSO4, was applied as an extractant in an ultrasound-microwave synergistic extraction approach to substitute conventional solvent for the extraction of pectin from the albedo part of pomelo peels. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and response surface method were employed for the optimization of the extraction conditions. A pectin yield of 328.64±4.19mg/g was achieved using the obtained optimal conditions, which was significantly higher than yields of conventional methods with reference solvents. Pectin samples extracted with [HO3S(CH2)4mim]HSO4 and hydrochloric acid solutions were tested by ANOVA and showed no significant differences in total carbohydrate content and degree of esterification; while galacturonic acid content was significantly different for the pectin from each extraction solvents. The differences revealed from images of atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis suggested the physiochemical properties of pectin could be affected by the extraction solvent. The [HO3S(CH2)4mim]HSO4 proved to be a promising alternative to conventional solvents and the proposed method is efficient for the extraction of pectin from the albedo of pomelo peels.

An efficient approach for the extraction of orientin and vitexin from Trollius chinensis flowers using ultrasonic circulating technique

Ultrasonic circulating extraction (UCE) approach was developed for effective extraction of orientin and vitexin from the flowers of Trollius chinensis successfully. In this study, some parameters potentially influencing the yields of orientin and vitexin were systematically investigated and optimized by Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken design, and the optimum operational conditions obtained were 60% ethanol volume fraction, 1000r/min stirring speed, 30°C temperature, 28min ultrasonic irradiation time, 10mL/g liquid-solid ratio and 738W ultrasonic irradiation power. Satisfactory yields of orientin (6.05±0.19mg/g) and vitexin (0.96±0.03mg/g) were obtained in a relatively shorter extraction time under the derived optimum conditions, compared to other ultrasonic extraction methods and heat extraction methods. The mechanism of UCE procedure was discussed in detail, to illustrate the advantage of UCE in the extraction process. In addition, no degradation of orientin and vitexin and high reproducibility of the developed UCE method were observed under the optimum conditions. The proposed UCE technique with high-capacity and circulation function is a rapid and efficient sample extraction technique, and performs promising in large-scale sample preparation.

A modified approach for isolation of essential oil from fruit of Amorpha fruticosa Linn using microwave-assisted hydrodistillation concatenated liquid-liquid extraction

In this work, a modified technique was developed to separate essential oil from the fruit of Amorpha fruticosa using microwave-assisted hydrodistillation concatenated liquid-liquid extraction (MHD-LLE). The new apparatus consists of two series-wound separation columns for separating essential oil, one is the conventional oil-water separation column, and the other is the extraction column of components from hydrosol using an organic solvent. Therefore, the apparatus can simultaneously collect the essential oil separated on the top of hydrosol and the components extracted from hydrosol using an organic solvent. Based on the yield of essential oil in the first and second separation columns, the effects of parameters were investigated by single factor experiments and Box-Behnken design. Under the optimum conditions (2mL ethyl ether as the extraction solvent in the second separation column, 12mL/g liquid-solid ratio, 4.0min homogenate time, 35min microwave irradiation time and 540W microwave irradiation power), satisfactory yields for the essential oil in the first separation column (10.31±0.33g/kg) and second separation column (0.82±0.03g/kg) were obtained. Compared with traditional methods, the developed method gave a higher yield of essential oil in a shorter time. In addition, GC-MS analysis of the essential oil indicated significant differences of the relative contents of individual volatile components in the essential oils obtained in the two separation columns. Therefore, the MHD-LLE technique developed here is a good alternative for the isolation of essential oil from A. fruticosa fruit as well as other herbs.