Extraction of Total Phenolic and Total Flavonoid Compounds from Aloe Barbadensis Miller Using Ultrasound Assisted Extraction

Abstract

Aloe barbadensis Miller (Aloe vera) is a safe alternative ingredient in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products due to its bioactive compounds’ availability. Ultrasound- assisted extraction (UAE) is the acoustic cavitation principle technique capable of damaging the cell walls of the plant matrix and thus favouring the release of bioactive compounds. This study was performed to extract the total phenolic and total flavonoid compounds using UAE technique. In this study, the inner gel of Aloe vera was used as the sample. The samples were grounded before been extracted with ethanol as the solvent using UAE technique. The UAE was operated at the range of 25-75 % and 20-60 min of duty cycle and sonication time, respectively. The concentrations of the total phenolic and total flavonoid compounds were determined using UV-Vis Spectrophotometer at wavelength of 765 and 420 nm, respectively. The highest concentrations of total phenolic (11.41±0.04 mg/mL) and total flavonoid (6.76±0.05 mg/mL) compounds were obtained at a duty cycle of 50% and 40 min of sonication time. The FTIR spectroscopy results show the presence of functional groups at wavelength range of 640.81 to 3318.64 cm-1. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) confirmed the efficiency of UAE technique for the bioactive compounds’ extraction. This study demonstrates that UAE is a great efficient technique hence feasible for future pharmacological research on plants and herbs.