Accelerated Solvent Extraction for the Recovery of Antioxidant-Containing Fractions from Echinops sphaerocephalus L. cultivated in Lithuania
Marius Užupis, Michail Syrpas, Vaida Kitrytė-Syrpa
Keywords: extraction, Echinops sphaerocephalus, accelerated solvent extraction.
Abstract:
Echinops sphaerocephalus L. (glandular globe-thistle) is a medicinal plant from the Asteraceae family, traditionally more recognised as a melliferous species. Apigenin, chlorogenic acid, catechin, and quinic acids are key plant-derived phenolic compounds with strong antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial, antiviral, and cardioprotective properties. However, the extraction of potential bioactive compounds from Echinops sphaerocephalus has not been well studied, and there is limited information available on the properties of its extracts.
This study aimed to evaluate the phenolic content, antioxidant capacity, and sun protection factor (SPF) of Echinops sphaerocephalus L., using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) with ethanol, water, and ethanol-water mixtures as food- and pharmaceutical-grade solvents to obtain valuable hydrophilic antioxidant extracts. ASE was carried out under four conditions: 100% H₂O, 100% EtOH, and EtOH–H₂O mixtures at 70/30% (v/v) and 50/50% (v/v). Extraction lasted 45 minutes, with the temperature set to 70°C for EtOH and EtOH–H₂O mixtures, and to 110°C for 100% H₂O.
The results demonstrated that ASE enhanced the extraction yield, ranging from 15.4 to 41.6 g/100 g DW. Extracts obtained under different conditions exhibited variable total phenolic content (25–43 mg GAE/g extract) and in vitro antioxidant capacity (199.4–302.4 mg TE/g extract), with SPF measurements supporting their UV-protective potential. These findings highlight ASE as an effective method for producing high-value fractions from E. sphaerocephalus, with potential applications in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.
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