PROCEDURE FOR EXTRACTING SAPONINS FROM BITTER GOURD (Momordica charantia Linn. var. abbreviata Seringe)

Abstract

The invention relates to a procedure for extracting saponins from Momordica charantia Linn. var. abbreviata Seringe, including: (a) preparation of the material; (b) ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) by mixing the powdered material with water as a solvent, performing ultrasonic treatment, then continuing extraction under stirring or shaking conditions, and taking samples at different extraction times, separating the solid-liquid phase by centrifugation and / or filtration, and determining the total saponin content S(t) to obtain the experimental data set S(t) as a function of extraction time t; (c) fitting the Luong model of extraction kinetics with the experimental data S(t) obtained from step (b) to describe the variation of total saponin content as a function of extraction time t; (d) Establish the operating extraction time by using the kinetic model in step (c) to determine the time tmax at which the function S(t) reaches its maximum value Sm, and select the operating extraction time top < tmax such that S(top) ≥ 0.9 Sm, preferably in the range 0.90.Sm to 0.95 Sm; (e) optimize extraction conditions using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Box-Behnken design, in which the top extraction operating time determined in step (d) is kept constant, in order to determine the optimal extraction parameters including solvent / material ratio, ultrasonic time and extraction temperature so that the total saponin content obtained reaches the maximum value; and (f) perform the extraction process by simultaneously applying the top extraction operating time determined in step (d) and the optimal extraction parameters determined in step (e), then separate the phase by centrifugation and / or filtration to obtain the extract containing total saponins.