Eco-friendly Extraction Method Research Articles

High yield ultrasonication extraction method for Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll and its anti-inflammatory properties associated with AP-1 pathway suppression

Developing efficient and eco-friendly extraction methods is a major goal of the functional food industry. We developed an ultrasonication extraction method for Undaria pinnatifida sporophyll requiring 6 h extraction time at 80% amplitude. This application of ultrasonication increases yield by 25% and decreases extraction time by approximately 18 h. Additionally, we investigated the effect of the ultrasonicated sporophyll from Undaria pinnatifida extract (UPE) on LPS-induced inflammation. Following ultrasonication, the average molecular weight decreases in comparison to conventional methods, in a similar manner to commercial fucoidan. UPE significantly suppresses lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitrite and PGE2 production and subsequently suppresses inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression in Raw 264.7 cells. Western blot assay results also demonstrate that UPE strongly suppresses LPS-induced c-Jun N terminal kinase (JNK) 1/2/MKK 4 and p38/MKK3/6 phosphorylation in Raw 264.7 cells. SR11302, an AP-1 specific inhibitor, suppressed LPS-induced iNOS and COX-2 expression. In addition, SiMLK3 strongly suppressed LPS-induced iNOS and COX-2 expression, as well as JNK1/2 and p38 phosphorylation in Raw 264.7 cells.Taken together, these results suggest that this ultrasonication extraction method is more efficient for extracting sporophyll of Undaria pinnatifida extract, which has potent anti-inflammatory properties.

An Eco-Friendly Method for Extraction and Determination of Ciprofloxacin in Blood Serum and Pharmaceuticals

A method was established for the determination of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride (CIPRO) in the blood serum and pharmaceutical samples by a combination of cloud point extraction with UV-Vis spectrophotometry. The method included the formation of Fe (III) –CIPRO complex in presence of dilute H2SO4, followed the extraction of the complex by cloud point extraction using non-ionic surfactant Triton X-114. The surfactant phase extracted was dissolved in little amount of solvent and the CIPRO quantity measured spectrophotometerically at absorption maximum of 437 nm. The effect of the experimental factors which affect the CPE efficiency was optimized by classical method. The preconcentration and enrichment factors were found to be 40 and 143 fold respectively, achieving the detection limit of 0.77 μg mL-1 and linear range of 2.5-120 μg mL-1 with correlation coefficient of 0.9984, under the optimum conditions. The average recovery percentage of CIPRO was of 98.89±0.87% and the precision in the range of 1.15-2.85%. The suggested method was applied for the determination of CIPRO in the serum samples of different subjects orally administrated for two hours with Emicipro 500, in addition to drug formulations like UFEXIL® infusion and Ciprodar® tablets. The experimental values were agreed with the quoted values that stated by the manufacturer’ companies.

An assessment of zinc oxide nanosheets as a selective adsorbent for cadmium

Zinc oxide nanosheet is assessed as a selective adsorbent for the detection and adsorption of cadmium using simple eco-friendly extraction method. Pure zinc oxide nanosheet powders were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The zinc oxide nanosheets were applied to different metal ions, including Cd(II), Cu(II), Hg(II), La(III), Mn(II), Pb(II), Pd(II), and Y(III). Zinc oxide nanosheets were found to be selective for cadmium among these metal ions when determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Moreover, adsorption isotherm data provided that the adsorption process was mainly monolayer on zinc oxide nanosheets.

Pressurized liquid extraction of tectoridin and tectorigenin in Belamcanda chinensis and pressurized water extraction of phyllodulcin in Hydrangea macrophylla

Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) was applied to extract tectoridin and tectorigenin from Belamcanda chinensis (Iridaceae) with aqueous ethanol, an environment-friendly solvent. Tectoridin and tectorigenin were proven to be the main biologically active constituents of B. chinensis with anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic, and anti-tumor activities [1]. Several compositions of water and ethanol, temperatures, and static extraction times were studied to optimize extraction protocol. The optimized conditions are as follows: (i) tectoridin; solvent, 60% ethanol/water (v/v); temperature, 150 oC; static extraction time, 10min; (ii) tectorigenin; solvent, 60% ethanol/water (v/v); temperature, 180 oC; static extraction time, 15min. In addition, extraction efficiency of PLE for tectoridin and tectorigenin was compared to conventional methods such as soxhlet and sonication extraction. The highest extraction efficiency of tectoridin and tectorigenin was achieved by PLE. Pressurized hot water extraction (PHWE) was developed for phyllodulcin, a well known sweetener, in Hydrangea macrophylla var. thunbergii Makino (Saxifragaceae) [2]. PHWE is a non-flammable, harmless, readily available and eco-friendly extraction method. The extraction yield was highest at 150 oC and 20min. In addition, extraction efficiency of PHWE for phyllodulcin was compared to sonication extraction with methanol. The extraction yields of phyllodulcin were 10.4mg/g for PHWE, and 17.4mg/g for sonication with methanol. From these results, it is possible to state that PLE and PHWE could be promising alternative extraction methods for natural products.