Ultrasound-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction of synephrine, naringin, and neohesperidin from Citrus aurantium L. fruitlets

Abstract

The ultrasound-assisted aqueous two-phase extraction (UA-ATPE) was first employed to develop an effective technique for simultaneous extraction and preliminary purification of synephrine, naringin, and neohesperidin from Citrus aurantium L. fruitlets. Five types of ethanol/salts of aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) were investigated and then the extraction conditions were further optimized using single-factor experiments and response surface methodology (RSM) via Box–Behnken Design (BBD). The optimum process parameters were concluded as follows: 20.60% (w/w) K₂CO₃, 27% (w/w) ethanol, solvent-to-material ratio of 45.17:1 (g:g), 120-mesh particle size of fruitlets powder, extraction temperature of 50 °C, extraction time of 30 min, and ultrasonic power of 80 W. Under these conditions, the extraction yields of synephrine, naringin, and neohesperidin were up to 11.17 mg/g, 7.39 mg/g, and 89.27 mg/g, respectively. The yield of neohesperidin extracted by the optimal UA-ATPE was over eight times higher than that extracted by the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) using conventional solvents, and the total yield of target compounds was over twice higher while the impurity content in the extract was much lower. Therefore, UA-ATPE appeared to be a highly effective and promising approach for the extraction of synephrine, naringin, and neohesperidin from C. aurantium fruitlets.

Keywords:

• Aqueous two-phase system
• Citrus aurantium L. fruitlets
• naringin and neohesperidin
• synephrine
• ultrasound-assisted extraction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Sichuan University and Office of Science and Technology of Luzhou under Grant [number 2017CDLZ-S33].