Effect of conventional method and microwave assisted extraction on phytoconstituents of Chenopodium album

Abstract For past several years the conventional methods are generally employed for the plant extraction that includes Soxhlet’s apparatus, but the method is time consuming and requires solvent in large quantity. To overcome this problem the comparison of conventional method and microwave assisted extraction technique (MAE) was carried out using the aerial parts of the plant Chenopodium album in order to evaluate the outcome of the extraction on the presence of the phytoconstituents. In this context, aerial parts of the plant were extracted by Soxhlet’s apparatus and MAE technique at 200 W by means of magnetic shaker and at 50 °C temperature for 18 min using various solvents such as petroleum ether, ethyl acetate, methanol, hydro alcoholic extract and aqueous extract. The % age yield of the conventional method was found to be 3.38, 5.59, 8.15, 6.52 and 9.53 respectively and % age yield of the MAE was found to be 6.83, 8.58, 12.15, 10.12 and 14.56 respectively. Furthermore, the preliminary phytochemical screening results also represents that the MAE technique significantly increases the concentration of the secondary metabolites. To validate these findings the extracts were further evaluated for estimation of total phenolic, flavonoid, saponin and alkaloid content using gallic acid, quercetin, diosgenin and atropine respectively. The result represents that the maximum concentration of the phenolic compounds (2.94 ± 0.068), flavonoids (3.81 ± 0.039) and alkaloid (2.80 ± 0.091) was present in the M-CAME extract, whereas the total saponin content (3.22 ± 0.061) was found to maximum in the M-CAHE. In conclusion, MAE is a better technique of extraction for Chenopodium album in comparison to the conventional method of extraction.