Highly Efficient Recovery of Bioactive Puerarin from Roots of Pueraria lobata Using Generally Recognized as Safe Solvents

Puerarin (daidzein-8-C-glucoside), one of the bioactive isoflavones, has attracted attention in various industries due to its excellent pharmacological effects such as antioxidant effect, estrogen-like activity, reduction of blood sugar, and neuroprotective effect. Puerarin is most abundantly found in the roots of Pueraria lobata (RPL) among various biomass sources. To improve the utilization feasibility of puerarin, a high-yield extraction process should be designed for RPL. This study aimed to optimize the extraction process to more efficiently recover puerarin from RPL while using generally recognized as safe solvents as extraction solvents, considering the potential industrial applications of puerarin. The extraction variables were optimized by the one-factor-at-a-time method, response surface methodology, and time profiling study. As a result, puerarin yield was achieved at 60.56 mg/g biomass under optimal conditions (ethanol concentration of 46.06%, extraction temperature of 65.02 °C, ratio of extraction solvent to biomass of 11.50 mL/g, and extraction time of 22 min). High puerarin yield achieved in this study contributed to improving the industrial applicability of puerarin.