Study on the extraction yield of hydroethanolic extracts of medicinal plants using the cold maceration method

Abstract

The cold maceration extraction method offers several advantages over other methods, such as preserving bioactive compounds and minimising degradation. It is characterised by low-temperature processing, which helps maintain the stability of sensitive compounds and is suitable for extracting high-quality extracts from various plant materials. This method allows for a high extraction yield, is less time-consuming, and requires simpler equipment compared to methods like Soxhlet extraction. This study focused on the preparation of plant extracts from herbal plants collected from Trichy, Tamil Nadu. The plants included the leaves of C. dactylon (Bermuda grass) and P. betle (Paan), the stems of T. cordifolia (Guduchi or Amrita), the roots of R. cordifolia (Manjistha) and P. zeylanica (Chitraka), the rhizomes of S. china (China Root), and the spores of N. sativa (Black cumin). The plants were dried, pulverised, and stored at room temperature before being immersed in 1000 mL of 50 per cent ethanol. The extracts were then filtered through Whatman No. 1 filter paper, concentrated by a rotary vacuum evaporator, and freeze-dried at −70°C using a lyophilizer. The mean yield per cent of dry samples from three batches of extraction for C. dactylon and P. betle leaves, T. cordifolia stems, P. zeylanica and R. cordifolia roots, S. china rhizomes, and N. sativa seeds was 13.44, 21.01, 8.09, 16.30, 25.03, 11.66, and 14.15, respectively. In conclusion, the cold maceration procedure employed in this study resulted in a significant quantity of extracts from herbal plants that could be utilised in the development of further polyherbal formulations.