Ultrasound assisted extraction of sappan wood (Caesalpinia sappan L.) using different solvents

Caesalpinia sappan L. or known as sappan wood is a plant that had been used in traditional food, beverages and traditional medicine. It contains many active phytochemicals compound such as brazilin, sappanchalcone, xanthone, coumarin and flavones. Extraction is the common method to get the active compounds in plants and the use of new method of extraction is very recommended. The research was aimed to analyze the effect of different solvent (ethanol, water and 2-propanol) to the characteristic of sappan wood extract obtained from ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) process. Approximately 10 g of sappan wood was mixed with 100 ml solvent and extracted using probe type of ultrasound extractor for 15 mins and 500C. Extracts were analyzed for their yield, color, phytochemical compound, total phenolic content (TPC) and antioxidant activity. Ethanol gives the highest yield (6.125%) with the color tends to be between ruby red and traffic red. This result is in accordance with the calculation of Hansen solubility parameter (HSP). All of the three extracts contained saponin, tannin, flavonoid and triterpenoid. Ethanol also gives the highest TPC (254.14 mg GAE/100 g) and lowest IC50 (3.19). It can be concluded that ethanol is better solvent to extract phytochemical component in sappan wood.