Comparison of extraction solvents used for the extraction of total phenolic content from pegagan (Centella asiatica L) using microwave-assisted extraction

Centella asiatica L is commonly used as herbal teas, food additives, and cosmetics components, besides C.asiatica is used to repair minor wounds, lacerations, burns, hypertrophic wound healing, and an inflammatory agent. In traditional Asian medicine, C.asiatica has been used for hundreds of years, mainly for dermatology. C.asiatica has four bioactive components: asiatic acid, asiaticoside, madecassic acid, and madecassoside. Microwave-Assisted Extraction (MAE) is a method of extraction of the bioactive components of C.asiatica. MAE was used in this study because processing effectiveness improves heat and mass transfer to enhance the extraction viability. This study will compare solvents’ effect in total phenolic content (TPC) extraction using the Microwave-Assisted Extraction (MAE) method. TPC is one of the main groups in phenolic compounds (PCs). In some research development analysis, the phenolic compound was exploring qualitative and quantitative approaches to analyze the abundant bioactive content in natural sources. Three factors: power microwave, radiation time, and solvent concentration were studied. Extract results were analyzed for total phenolic content using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 764 nm. The result showed that all independent variables are significant for the response. Ethanol solvent produced a higher total phenolic content than the distilled water solvent, 52,128 mg GAE/g sample; 45,654 mg GAE/g sample, respectively. The ANOVA analysis with ethanol solvent gave an R-square value of 97.46%, while the R-square value of distilled water solvent was 80. 57%. R-square analysis shows that the extraction process variables significantly affect the response using ethanol and distilled water solvents. Thus, the most optimal solvent to produce optimal bioactive compounds is by using ethanol solvent over distilled water solvent.