Abstract
BackgroundPhytosterols have important physiological and officinal function.MethodsAn efficient ultrasonic assisted extraction, purification and crystallization procedure of phytosterols was established from corn silk for the first time.ResultsThe orthogonal test was applied to optimize the process parameters and a maximum phytosterols recovery as high as 10.5886 mg/g was achieved by ultrasonic treatment for 55 min with liquid–solid ratio of 12:1 at 35 °C, 220 w. The ultrasonic extraction temperature (T, °C) has the most significant effect on extraction yield of phytosterols. An orthogonal crystallization test was performed and the optimal conditions [crystallization temperature of 8 °C, time of 12 h and solid–liquid ratio of 1:1 (g/ml)] afforded maximum phytosterols purity of 92.76 ± 0.43%.ConclusionsAn efficient extraction and crystallization procedure was established.
Highlights
Phytosterols have important physiological and officinal function
Preparation of the standard solution of β‐sitosterol Standard solution of β-sitosterol was prepared in anhydrous ethanol at a concentration of 100 mg/l. 2.0 ml sample after tenfold dilution was added into the tubes with 2.0 ml anhydrous ethanol and 2.0 ml ferric chlorine–strong phosphoric acid–sulfuric acid reagent, phytosterols were determined at 530 nm wavelength after 15 min reaction by sulfate–phosphate–ferric method according to Xu [18]
CS is a waste material from corn cultivation and available in abundance throughout the world, in this paper, the extraction and purification were studied firstly and phytosterols crystal was obtained at high yield (10.5886 mg/g) and purity (92.76 ± 0.43%)
Summary
Phytosterols have important physiological and officinal function. Steroids are one type of components in living organisms and the importance of these as a part of a healthy diet has been emphasized in the recent dietary recommendations [1]. Different functions of steroid from plants and microorganisms, such as sitosterol, stigmasterol, campesterol, ergosterol, fucosterol have been studied including inhibiting tumor growth, cellular immune stimulating, antiinflammatory, antioxidant and anti-diabetic properties [2, 3]. CS is a well-known traditional herb that has been used for treatment of varied diseases such as treating obesity [7], weight loss [8], immune enhancement [9], anti-diabetic activity [10], regulation of blood sugar [11], anti-proliferative effects on human cancer cell lines [12], improvement of gastrointestinal movement [13] and antioxidant activity [14]. Corn silk has been reported to contain various chemicals [14, 16, 17], most of the researches have been focused on
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