Supercritical fluid extraction of flavonoids from Maydis stigma and its nitrite-scavenging ability

Supercritical fluid carbon dioxide (SF-CO2) extraction (SFE) of flavonoids from Maydis stigma and its nitrite-scavenging ability were investigated. The effects of extraction time, particle size and co-solvent composition in terms of water content in ethanol were first optimized. Then, a Box–Behnken design combined with response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to study the effects of three independent variables (temperature, pressure and co-solvent amount) on the extraction yield of flavonoids. A maximal extraction yield of flavonoids of approximately 4.24 mg/g of M. stigma by SFE was obtained under optimal conditions (a temperature of 50.88 °C, a pressure of 41.80 MPa, a co-solvent amount of 2.488 mL/g and an extraction time of 120 min with 0.4-mm particle sizes and 20% aqueous ethanol as the co-solvent). Furthermore, the nitrite-scavenging ability of the flavonoid-enriched SFE extracts was assessed using the Griess reagent. The flavonoid-enriched SFE extracts exhibited the highest scavenging ability on nitrite (88.1 ± 3.04%) at the concentration of 500 μg/mL and at pH 3.0. The nitrite-scavenging ability of the extracts appeared to be concentration dependent but negatively correlated with the pH.

Research highlights▶ Response surface methodology was successfully applied to the optimization of the SFE process to achieve an efficient extraction of flavonoids from Maydis stigma. ▶ Nitrite-scavenging ability of the flavonoid-enriched SFE extracts was investigated for the first time. ▶ The extracts of Maydis stigma may have potentials as healthcare food additives that could be used to reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases.