Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Ionic Liquid-Based Ultrasonic/Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Steroidal Saponins from Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright

Peng Wang¹, Chaoyang Ma¹, Shangwei Chen², Song Zhu², Zaixiang Lou¹, Hongxin Wang¹

¹State Key Laboratory of Food Science and Technology, School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University; ²State Key Laboratory of Food Science & Technology, No.1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, Jiangsu, PR China.

For correspondence:- Hongxin Wang Email: wanghongxin2009@hotmail.com Tel:+08651085917795

Received: 24 March 2014 Accepted: 5 July 2014 Published: 18 August 2014

Citation: Wang P, Ma C, Chen S, Zhu S, Lou Z, Wang H. Ionic Liquid-Based Ultrasonic/Microwave-Assisted Extraction of Steroidal Saponins from Dioscorea zingiberensis C. H. Wright. Trop J Pharm Res 2014; 13(8):1339-1345 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v13i8.20

© 2014 The authors.
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Abstract

Purpose: To develop a more green, efficient and low cost process for the extraction of steroidal saponins from Dioscorea Zingiberensis C. H. Wright.

Methods: Six kinds of ionic liquids with different cations and anions were evaluated. In addition, the extraction parameters of the ionic liquid based ultrasonic/microwave extraction were studied. In order to quantify the total saponin content accurately, all steroidal saponins were converted into diosgenin and quantified with an appropriate HPLC procedure. IL-UMAE under optimal conditions was compared with heat reflux extraction (HRE) and ultrasonic assisted extraction (UAE).

Results: 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([EMIm]BF4) solution at concentration of 0.5 mol L-1 was selected as extraction solvent. The optimum conditions were as follows: solvent to solid ratio 15:1, microwave power 500 W and extraction time 8 min. Under these optimal conditions, the highest extraction yield of diosgenin 10.24 ± 0.31 mg g-1 was obtained. It took only 8 min to obtain the 91.67 % content of diosgenin obtained by traditional HRE. Extracting on time was shortened from 120 min to 8 min.

Conclusion: Compared with traditional methods, IL-UMAE method uses Ionic liquid-solvent which greatly shortens the extraction time. IL-UMAE as a simple, effective and environmentally friendly approach shows a broad prospect for active ingredient extraction.

Keywords: Dioscorea zingiberensis Steroidal saponins, Ionic liquid, Ultrasonic, Microwave