Ultrasonic-assisted extraction of fenugreek flavonoids and its geographical-based comparative evaluation using green UHPLC-DAD analysis

Extraction of diosgenin using different techniques from fenugreek seeds- A review

Diosgenin, falls under the category of steroidal saponin present in fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum) in the amount of 0.2-09%. This compound possesses certain pharmacological characteristics like anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-oxidant etc., that render it a desirable component in the medicinal and nutraceutical industries. Various methods such as, conventional solvent extraction, green extraction methods like Soxhlet extraction, microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), maceration methods, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and supercritical fluid extraction methods are employed to extract diosgenin from fenugreek seeds. Fundamentals such as solvent choice, pre-treatment techniques, and optimization parameters, affect the diosgenin extraction process. Furthermore, the quantification of diosgenin is governed by analytical methods(chromatography and spectroscopy), underscoring the significance of standardizing diosgenin levels to set the stage for upcoming pharmacological research. However there have been very negligible resources which focuses on conventional and novel techniques for extraction of diosgenin from Fenugreek seeds. This review aims to provide combined insights into the diverse methodologies employed for diosgenin extraction from fenugreek seeds and their implications in pharmaceutical research.

Efficient Removal of Pharmaceutical Contaminants from Aqueous Solution Using Plant-Derived Biosurfactant-Assisted Dissolved Air Flotation Process

This study investigates the removal of ibuprofen and diclofenac from aqueous media via a fully pressurized dissolved air flotation system, enhanced by fenugreek-derived saponin, a plant-based biosurfactant. The use of fenugreek saponin in flotation processes distinguishes this work from previous studies as it offers an ecofriendly and efficient alternative to chemical surfactants. The biosurfactant's surface-active properties were confirmed through FT-IR, UV-vis spectroscopy identified key functional groups and structural characteristics of the saponin, NMR provided molecular insights into its bioactive components, and surface tension analyses demonstrated its ability to reduce interfacial tension, indicating effective surfactant behavior. To optimize the saponin extraction, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) method was employed using a 70% ethanolic solution for 50 min, significantly improving the flotation efficiency. Experimental conditions were carefully optimized to maximize the removal efficiency of both contaminants. For ibuprofen, the optimal pH was 5 with a retention time of 10 min, while for diclofenac, the optimal pH was 4 with a contact time of 15 min. A saponin dosage of 0.4 wt % was used in both cases, with the flotation process operating under a pressure of 15 psig and a flow rate of 0.5 L/min. Under these conditions, the process attained a maximum removal efficiency of 98.59% for ibuprofen and 95.32% for diclofenac. GC-MS results further validated the presence of bioactive components in fenugreek saponin that are responsible for its high contaminant removal capacity. Despite the challenge of scum removal during the flotation process, this study demonstrates the high efficiency of this process in treating low-concentration pollutants. The process is not only rapid but also allows for selective pollutant removal while minimizing the use of harmful chemicals, offering a more sustainable and ecofriendly solution for wastewater treatment.

A Validated Trigonelline-Based Method for the Standardization and Quality Control of Trigonella foenum-graecum L

Background

Fenugreek, or Trigonella foenum-graecum L, is an edible and medicinal plant of the Fabaceae family. Fenugreek seeds are rich in proteins, lipids, and essential nutrients, and they also contain various phytochemicals, including flavonoids, steroidal saponins, coumarin, and alkaloids such as trigonelline. Trigonelline (TG) is a bioactive plant alkaloid initially extracted from fenugreek seeds. A substantial portion of fenugreek's health benefits may rely on the presence of TG. This study addresses the critical need for a fast, green, and economical method that overcomes inefficiencies, high solvent usage, and sensitivity limitations in the quantification of TG.

Methods

Fenugreek seeds from various origins were extracted using three green solvents: acetone (ACt), ethanol (EtOH), and water (H 2O). The UPLC-MS/MS method was developed and validated using a green mobile phase of H 2O: EtOH, and an r 2-value of 0.999 in the linearity range of 0.1-500 ppb was adopted. The method was validated with an accuracy of 98.6% for trace analysis of TG using a small amount (10 mg) of fenugreek samples from five different origins.

Results

The average extract yield was 5.36 mg/100 mg with a standard deviation (SD) of 6.3, with the highest extract yield observed in H 2O. The ESI (+ve) of the UPLC-MS/MS resulted in the fragmentation pattern ( m/z) 138→94.10→92.05→78.20. The TG quantification revealed an average TG concentration of 181.4 ppb (SD = 176.4), with the highest amount of TG in H 2O extract (mean = 392.7, SD = 132.4 ppb), followed by EtOH (mean = 91.9, SD = 83.3 ppb) and ACt (mean = 59.5, SD = 30.9 ppb). The TG amount observed in the validation step substantiated the efficiency and reproducibility of the developed method.

Conclusions

The method may be used as an effective tool for a green, rapid, economical, and eco-friendly extraction and quantification of TG in diverse matrices of pharmaceutical, cosmeceutical, herbal, and food products.

Method development and validation for the extraction and quantification of sesquiterpene lactones in Dolomiaea costus

Dolomiaea costus, commonly known as Indian costus, is a medicinal plant from the Asteraceae family. The root and powder of costus have been widely used to treat various health conditions. The primary bioactive compounds in this plant are sesquiterpene lactones, particularly costunolide and dehydrocostus lactone. This study aimed to establish a rapid, environmentally friendly, and cost-effective method for the high-throughput extraction and quantification of sesquiterpene lactones in Indian costus. Ultrasonic bath (UB) and UPLC/MS-MS were employed to extract and analyse 49 Indian costus samples. Aqueous ethanol was identified as the most effective solvent system for extracting and analysing sesquiterpene lactones. The extraction efficiency of the ultrasonic bath was comparable to that of the ultrasonic homogeniser while shaking showed the lowest efficiency. The environmentally friendly UPLC/MS-MS analysis revealed mean concentrations (±SD; μg/100 μg) of 1.00 (±0.39) for costunolide and 0.70 (±0.25) for dehydrocostus lactone. An inverse correlation was observed between sesquiterpene lactone content and sample colour. Most samples contained costunolide levels above the minimum limit (0.6 %) specified by the Chinese monograph, but only a few met the 1.8 % threshold for total sesquiterpene lactones. Given the importance of bioactive sesquiterpene lactones for medicinal efficacy, insufficient levels may result in diminished therapeutic value. Therefore, standardising Indian costus products is crucial to ensure quality and appropriate dosing. This study contributes to the standardisation of Indian costus, a vital step towards ensuring the efficacy and safety of herbal products.

Advances in Flavonoid Research: Sources, Biological Activities, and Developmental Prospectives

At present, the occurrence of a large number of infectious and non-communicable diseases poses a serious threat to human health as well as to drug development for the treatment of these diseases. One of the most significant challenges is finding new drug candidates that are therapeutically effective and have few or no side effects. In this respect, the active compounds in medicinal plants, especially flavonoids, are potentially useful compounds with a wide range of pharmacological activities. They are naturally present in nature and valuable in the treatment of many infectious and non-communicable diseases. Flavonoids are divided into fourteen categories and are mainly derived from plant extraction, chemical synthesis and structural modification, and biosynthesis. The structural modification of flavonoids is an important way to discover new drugs, but biosynthesis is currently considered the most promising research direction with the potential to revolutionize the new production pipeline in the synthesis of flavonoids. However, relevant problems such as metabolic pathway analyses and cell synthesis protocols for flavonoids need to be addressed on an urgent basis. In the present review, new research techniques for assessing the biological activities of flavonoids and the mechanisms of their biological activities are elucidated and their modes of interaction with other drugs are described. Moreover, novel drug delivery systems, such as nanoparticles, bioparticles, colloidals, etc., are gradually becoming new means of addressing the issues of poor hydrophilicity, lipophilicity, poor chemical stability, and low bioavailability of flavonoids. The present review summarizes the latest research progress on flavonoids, existing problems with their therapeutic efficacy, and how these issues can be solved with the research on flavonoids.

Enzyme-assisted ultrasonic extraction of total flavonoids and extraction polysaccharides in residue from Abelmoschus manihot (L)

Abelmoschus manihot (L) is a traditional chinese herb and the present study focused on its comprehensive development and utilization. Enzyme-assisted ultrasonic extraction (EUAE) was investigated for the extraction and qualitative and quantitative analysis of flavonoids from Abelmoschus manihot (L) using a combination of ultra-performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array (UPLC-PDA), polysaccharides was extracted from residues and compared with directly extracted from raw materials. The optimal yield of 3.46±0.012 % (w/w) was obtained when the weight ratio of cellulase to pectinase was 1:1, the enzyme concentration was 3 %, the pH was 6.0, the solvent was a mixture of 70 % ethanol (v/v) and 0.1 mol/L NaH2PO4 buffer solution, the ultrasonic power was 500 W, the extraction time was 40 min, and the temperature of the extraction was 50 °C. The individual concentrations of interested flavonoids (rutin, neochlorogenic acid, nochlorogenic acid, lsoquercitrin, quercitrin, gossypin, quercetin) were effectively increased with the using of EUAE, compared with ultrasonic extraction (UE) method. Polysaccharides were extracted from each residue, respectively, the Polysaccharides yield in residue from EUAE was higher than that from UE, and closed to the yield from direct extraction in raw materials. The above results shown that the experimental process had the potential to be environmentall, friendly, straightforward and efficient.

Solanum pseudocapsicum vs Capsicum annum; comparative phenolics profiling using green ultrasonic extraction and UHPLC analysis

BACKGROUND

Solanum pseudocapsicum (PC) and Capsicum annum (CA) belongs to the family of Solanaceae. CA have been reported a rich source of phenolics whereas, the phenolics content of GA (gallic acid), SC (scopoletin), RA (rosmarinic acid), and RV (resveratrol) are yet to be reported for the PC-fruit. This study comparatively evaluates the phenolics profile for different parts (seeds and skin) and colors (green and red) of the PC- and CA-fruits using the green solvents of ethanol (ET), acetone (AC), water (H2O), and different combinations of these solvents.

METHODOLOGY

Ultrasonics extraction (US) and UHPLC analysis were employed for phenolics evaluation.

RESULTS

The USMD (method development) revealed the highest extract yield of 62 mg/100 mg for the PC-skin in ET:AC (70:30) solvent whereas, more phenolics (ppm) were observed for PC-seeds in ET:AC (50:50) solvent, particularly the SC (29.46) and GA (16.92). The UHPLCMDMV exhibited significant accuracies (100.70-114.14 %) with r2-values (0.9993-0.9997) in the linearity range of 1-200 ppm. The USMV (method validation) in PC- and CA-fruit parts and colors revealed more extract yields for the red skin part of the PC- (180.5 mg) and CA-fruit (126.2 mg). The phenolics were seen more in the green seeds of the PC-fruit (ppm); SC (276), GA (147.36), RV (28.54), and RA (23.87) followed by the green PC-skin, and red/green CA-seeds. The statistical models of mean differences, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation showed significant differences for the PC-fruit parts (seeds and skin) and colors (red and green) vs extract yield and phenolics content (P = 0.05).

CONCLUSION

PC-and CA-fruits were successfully evaluated where the seeds for the green fruits exhibited more phenolics amount.

An integrated process by ultrasonic enhancement in the deep eutectic solvents system for extraction and separation of chlorogenic acid from Eucommia ulmoides leaves

This study established an integrated process for the extraction and enrichment of chlorogenic acid(CGA)from Eucommia ulmoides leaves in a deep eutectic solvent system via ultrasonic wave-enhanced adsorption and desorption practices utilizing macroporous resins. Although deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have the advantages of chemical stability, good dissolving capacity, and nonvolatilization, routine solvent recovery operations are not suitable for subsequent separation in this solvent system. Based on the above characteristics, this study integrated the extraction and enrichment processes, in which DESs extracts directly loaded onto the macroporous adsorption resin, avoiding the loss of target components in solvent recovery and redissolution processes. The screening results of solvents and resin types further showed that choline chloride-malic acid (1:1) was the optimal DES, and the NKA-II resin had high adsorption and elution performance for CGA. The viscosities of the DESs were much higher than those of water and conventional organic solvents; thus, the mass transfer resistance was large, which could also affect the adsorption behaviour of the macroporous resin. The thermal and mechanical effects of ultrasound could effectively enhance the efficiency of the mass transfer, adsorption, and desorption in the DES systems. When compared to no sonication treatment, the CGA adsorption at various ultrasonic powers (120-600 W) was examined. At optimal ethanol concentration (60%), the effect of the ultrasonic treatment on the recovery of the DESs (water eluting process) and the desorption capability of CGA were confirmed. The use of three volumes of water elution could recover the DESs without loss of CGA. The adsorption process significantly differed depending on the ultrasonic settings, and the absorption balance time and experimental adsorption capacity at equilibrium were enhanced. Additionally, the adsorption procedure of the NKA-II macroporous resin for CGA under ultrasonic treatment could be clarified by the pseudo second order kinetic equation and the Freundlich isotherm model. Thermodynamic and dynamic parameters indicated that physical adsorption was the main process of the entire procedure, and it was a spontaneous, exothermic, and entropy-reducing physical adsorption process. This study potentially indicates that the use of ultrasonication, as a high-efficiency, environmentally friendly method, can enhance the features of the macroporous resin to better purify target chemicals from a DES extract.