Comparative evaluation of ultrasound-assisted extraction and micelle-mediated extraction of bioactive compound from Acmella oleracea

This study compares two green extraction techniques: ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and micelle-mediated extraction (MME) for isolating (2E,4E,8Z,10E)-N-isobutyl-2,4,8,10-dodecatetraenamide (IBDTA) from Acmella oleracea. EtOH was selected as the optimal solvent for UAE using Hansen solubility parameters, and extraction conditions including amplitude, extraction time, and solid-to-solvent ratio were systematically evaluated via response surface methodology. For MME, Tween 80 was used to form micelles to enhance the extraction process. The key parameters that were optimized included surfactant concentration, NaCl concentration, incubation time, and temperature. UAE achieved the highest extraction efficiency (25.94 µg/g crude extract) under 20% amplitude, 20 min, and a 1:5 solid-to-solvent ratio. MME yielded optimal extraction at 4% Tween 80, 10% NaCl, 40 min, and 80 °C, yielding 25.06 µg/g crude extract. The MME-extracted exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity (IC₅₀ = 52.24 ± 5.7 µg/mL), comparable to diclofenac, while maintaining moderate cytotoxicity (IC₅₀ = 1126.5 ± 1.8 µg/mL), whereas the UAE-extracted product exhibited the lowest cytotoxicity (IC₅₀ = 2513.4 ± 1.6 µg/mL) while retaining anti-inflammatory potency (IC₅₀ = 100.9 ± 7.8 µg/mL). These results highlight the suitability of both green extraction approaches for industrial-scale applications in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmeceutical industries, where there is a growing emphasis on environmentally sustainable production practices.