Optimising certain factors influencing the process of extracting polyphenolic compounds from areca nuts (Areca catechu L.) using response surface methodology

Polyphenols are a group of natural compounds found in plants with antibacterial and antioxidant properties, offering significant potential applications in pharmaceutical and agricultural production. To extract and obtain a high content of polyphenolic compounds from areca nuts (Areca catechu L.), the study utilised a surface response methodology to assess the impact of various technical factors such as solvent concentration (X1), solvent-to-material ratio (v/w) (X2), and soaking time (hours) (X3) on the yield of polyphenolic compounds (Y) extracted from areca nuts. The study’s results yielded a model describing the extraction of polyphenolic compounds from areca nuts using the objective function Y = 80.64 + 3.10X1 - 1.27X3 - 6.00X12 - 3.66X22 - 5.07X32. Based on the objective function, the highest polyphenol content obtained was 80.72 mg GAE/g of raw material under the following conditions: ethanol solvent concentration of 55%, solvent-to-material ratio (v/w) of 35/1, and soaking time of 2 hours. The experimental polyphenol content results showed no statistically significant differences compared to the model-predicted outcomes. These results serve as a basis for the polyphenol extraction process from areca nuts with antibacterial applications in agriculture and medicine.