QbD Based Extraction of Naringin from Citrus sinensis L. Peel and its Antioxidant Activity

Background: Naringin, a bioflavanoid possessing multifaceted pharmacological properties present in Citrus sinensis peel. Our research demonstrates the process parameter at which high yield of naringin can be extracted from Citrus sinensis peel in "one run." Objectives: The study compares the efficacy of different modern and conventional methods for naringin extraction. Box-Behnken Design (BBD), was availed for optimization of process parameters for the extraction of naringin from Citrus sinensis peels. Materials and Methods: Extraction conditions (extraction time, solvent-to-drug ratio and extraction temperature) were optimized by Quality by Design (QbD), specifically BBD. Quantification analysis of naringin in different extracts was done using HPLC. Further, the antioxidant potential of different extracts of C. sinensis were assessed with the DPPH method. Results: Ultrasound-assisted extraction method gives the highest yield of naringin and ethanol found to be the most effective extractive solvent. Through the use of BBD, the optimal conditions for naringin extraction were established as extraction temperature- 65.508°C, solvent-to-drug ratio- 25.880 mL/g and extraction time- 29.978 min. Under such conditions, naringin was yielded as 2.021 mg/g, which was nearly contiguous to the predicted value of 2.20 mg/g. The ethanolic extract has unveiled significant antioxidant activity with a percentage inhibition of 71.54%. Conclusion: The Ultrasound-assisted extraction method stood out to be the best amongst all the other thermal and non-thermal modes of extraction used, and ethanol was proved to be the most efficient extracting solvent. Furthermore, naringin extraction was significantly affected by all three different variables. The present work highlights the use of QbD, a multivariate statistical technique in the extraction field of therapeutically potent phytoconstituents, which makes the optimization method less laborious and time-saving than the traditional optimization method.