Subcritical water extraction of polyphenols from endemic Algerian plants with medicinal properties

Abstract

Ephedra alata, Ononis angustissima, and Genista saharae are endemic Algerian plants with pharmacological potential, used for centuries in traditional medicine. Herein the efficiency of subcritical water extraction (SWE) of phenols and flavonoids from these plants was evaluated by spectrophotometric assays. The most important operational parameters of the technique (temperature, pressure, time) were optimized for each plant based on phenols yield. At defined optimal extraction conditions (140ºC for E. alata, 155ºC for O. angustissima and G. saharae, 50 bars, 15min), maximum contents of phenols in the extracts were 16.13, 18.33, and 21.12 mg GAE/g dry weight, for E. alata, O. angustissima, and G. saharae, respectively. Considering the safety of the used solvent, excellent yields of phenols and short extraction time, subcritical water extraction can efficiently be used in exploitation of pharmacological potentials of the studied plants.

Keywords

• ephedra alata
• ononis angustissima
• genista saharae
• subcritical water extraction
• phenols
• flavonoids