Simultaneous isolation of catechin, epicatechin, rutin and apigenin from spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) leaves by supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction

In this study, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction conditions were optimized for the simultaneous separation of four bioactive flavonoids (catechin, CA; epicatechin, EP; rutin, RU;luteolin, LU) contained in spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) leaves. SC-CO2 extraction parameters suchas pressure, temperature and dynamic extraction time were optimized by Complete Randomize Design (CRD) full factorial. The optimum condition of SC-CO2 extraction was achieved at 200 bar, 60°C and60 min (with 60.566 mg/g extraction yield). Extracted yield at optimum condition was then analyzedby high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for quantifying bioactive flavonoid compounds. At optimum conditions, four bioactive flavonoids including (+)-catechin, (-)-epicatechin, rutin, andluteolin were detected at high concentration. Luteolin (0.657 mg/g) had the highest concentrationamong the other detected flavonoids. The results indicated that SC-CO2 extraction is a promising and alternative process for recovering the bioactive compounds from spearmint leaves.

کلیدواژه ها:

Spearmint (Mentha spicata L.) ، Bioactive Flavonoid ، (+)-Catechin ، (-)-Epicatechin ، Rutin ، Luteolin ، Supercritical Carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) Extraction ، HPLC