Background: Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja is a well-known edible and medicinal plant in China and is commonly called the 'sweet tea tree'. It has been reported to have a broad range of therapeutic and nutritional values in lowering blood sugar, blood lipids and blood pressure. However, much of the annual C. paliurus production is wasted. Recent reports have suggested that polysaccharides are the main active ingredients responsible for the observed bioactivities of C. paliurus. In this study, response surface methodology was used to determine the optimal conditions for microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of polysaccharides from C. paliurus.
Results: The optimal conditions for MAE of polysaccharides were a duration of microwave radiation of 20.8 min, a temperature of 100.9 degrees C and a water/material ratio of 22.1:1. Under these conditions the yield of polysaccharides was up to 5.04 +/- 0.09%. Compared with conventional heat reflux extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction, MAE of polysaccharides from C. paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja saved a lot of time and gave the highest yield.
Conclusion: The present study suggests that MAE is a good alternative method for the extraction of polysaccharides from C. paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja.
Copyright (c) 2010 Society of Chemical Industry.