Maceration, microwave assisted and ultrasound assisted extraction of phenolic compounds from Tunisian Limoniastrum monopetalum: kinetic modeling and chemical analysis

Maceration, ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE), and microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) were investigated in this study, focusing on the selectivity towards phenolic compounds in ethanol extracts from Limoniastrum monopetalum leaves using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and kinetic models of extractions. Moreover, several phenolic compounds were identified by RP-HPLC. Results showed that total polyphenol compounds (TPC) under the MAE conditions (ethanol, 700 W microwave power, 60 s extraction time, and 1 mL/g solvent-to-solid ratio) were 75.707 mg GAE/100 g dried sample in only one minute of extraction. We conclude that MAE is a promising extraction method for polyphenols. Model results were correlated with mathematical models of the extraction process. Six phenolic acids and three flavonoids were identified by HPLC–DAD. MAE is a valuable and green analytical methodology for the investigation of phenolic components in natural plants.