Comparison Study of Ultrasonic-Assisted Extraction (UAE) and Maceration Method for Polyphenols from Euphorbia tirucalli L

Euphorbia tirucalli L. is a medicinal plant known for its biological properties, such as antioxidant and antibacterial, attributed to its rich polyphenolic content. The extraction process may determine the recovery of the bioactive compounds in the plant, such as extraction methods and their solvents. This work focused on the comparison of extraction methods, employing maceration and ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) for polyphenolic extraction from E. tirucalli. It was revealed that UAE was the most effective method with TPC, TFC, and antioxidant activity corresponding to 29.26 ± 0.15 mgGAE/100g, 152.85 ± 9.04 mgQE/100g, and 80.37 ± 0.59%, respectively. On the other hand, methanol was the best extraction solvent for TPC and antioxidant activity, while acetone was preferably the best solvent for TFC. All extracts possessed high antioxidant activity (> 50%) except for petroleum ether extracts. Thus, it was concluded that E. tirucalli exhibits high polyphenolic content and promising antioxidant activity using the methanolic extract of UAE.