Optimization of Nanoscience Parameters for Extracting Phenolic Compounds from Ficus religiosa by Three-Phase Partitioning (TPP) Method

Abstract

Background: Phenolic compounds are generally found in different parts of various herbs and plants such as leaves, barks, seeds, fruits, etc. These compounds show numerous bioactive properties, including antioxidant characteristics. Phenolic compounds obtained from beneficial herbs and dietary plants include flavonoids and tannins. In recent times, nanoscience has proved to be extensively helpful in extracting bioactive components. Additionally, nanomaterials have made a considerable contribution to the development of methodical techniques to retain superiority in processing foods and medicines. Objective: Of late, the process of extraction of nano-bioactive composites from natural resources has gained significant interest as these composites are used in manufacturing a wide range of products such as foods, paints, and pharmaceuticals. Therefore, there is a requirement to separate natural products to identify new nano-bioactive compounds that have the potential to improve the developed techniques. Methods: This research focuses on optimizing the experimental parameters to extract the phenolic compounds from Ficus religiosa (banyan leaves) by the three-phase partitioning (TPP) method. TPP is an advanced method that is widely used for the extraction, concentration, and purification of various nano-based bioactive compounds and enzymes. Results: During the investigation, various experimental parameters have been studied to obtain the maximum concentration of phenolic compounds from the dried powder of the Ficus religiosa leaves. The optimised results were found to be as follows: 30% of ammonium sulphate, solute to the solvent in the ratio of 1:20 (v/v), and slurry to t-butanol in the ratio of 1:1. Conclusion: The experimental results showed that the TPP method is very efficient as it needs minimum time to complete the extraction compared to the conventional solvent-based stirred batch extraction method.