Optimization of polysaccharide process from Fructus corni with box-behnken design and antioxidant capacity.

: In the present study, the ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) process of polysaccharide from Fructus corni (FCP) was opitimized using the Box-Behnken design (BBD). The main parameters including ultrasound time (min), temperature (oC) and solvent to raw material ratio (mL/g) were chosen as the process variables for the optimization of UAE process. The results of analysis of variance indicated that the equation obtained from the experiments could represent the data and the predicted responses satisfactorily. The optimum conditons obtained by BBD were ultrasonic time (51min), temperature (69oC) and solvent to solid ratio (20mL/g) with actual yield (12.68±0.16%), which was good agreement with value predicted by the model. The antioxidant properties of FCP were assessed in vitro based on scavenging effect of the DPPH radical, hydroxyl radical and super oxide radical tests. The FCP possessed strong antioxidant abilities on DPPH and super oxide radical at the high concentration. The results on hydroxyl radical demonstrated that FCP exhibited high scavenging effect when the concentration was over 3000μg/mL. The findings suggested that the FCP had antioxidant capacities and could be developed as a source of natural antioxidants and functional food material.