Optimization of pressurized liquid extraction of Piper gaudichaudianum Kunth leaves.

Piperaceae family is original from tropical regions and it shows more than 700 species around the world. Piper gaudichaudianum Kunth is the specie more abundant in Brazil, occurring from Northeast to South Brazil. In this paper, it was investigated the influence of some experimental parameters on the pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) of P. gaudichaudianum Kunth leaves, using petroleum ether as extractor solvent. The optimization of the main variables involved in the PLE process (extraction temperature and time) has been done by response surface methodology (RSM) using, as responses, the extraction yield and the chromatographic profile (GC/MS) of the extracts. The optimized procedure employed 3 g of ground leaves, 10 min of extraction and one cycle of extraction at 85 degrees C. The major compounds present in the petroleum ether extracts were: palmitic acid, stearic acid and nerolidol. The results presented in this work show the possibility of using a fast and easy process to recover compounds from P. gaudichaudianum Kunth.