Optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) process for the recovery of bioactive compounds from bitter gourd using response surface methodology (RSM)

This article presents the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) of antioxidants, total phenolics and soluble proteins from bitter gourd (Momordica charantia). For comparative purposes, two sonication modes, namely normal and pulsed mode have been considered and the response variables have been addressed as a function of temperature, extraction time and vegetable to water ratio using response surface methodology (RSM) based design of experiments. Except for a few cases, the carried out investigations affirmed non-linear dependence of response variables (bioactive compound content) on control variables. Among all cases, pulsed mode sonication performed effectively than normal sonication mode with marginally lower vegetable to solvent ratio but higher bio-active content. These research findings indicate promising opportunities for pulsed mode ultra-sonication process with respect to conventional extraction methods for the production of bitter gourd aqueous extract for medicinal and functional food applications. (C) 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.