An integrated ultrasonic pretreatment and microwave-assisted surfactant approach for simultaneously extracting essential oils, ethyl p-methoxycinnamate, and polysaccharides from Kaempferia galanga L.

An integrated ultrasonic pretreatment and microwave-assisted surfactant approach (UP-MASA) was innovatively proposed for the extraction of essential oils (EOs), ethyl p -methoxycinnamate (EP), and polysaccharides from Kaempferia galanga L. First, Brij58 was identified as the optimal surfactant for extraction. Univariate experimental analysis and Box–Behnken design were subsequently employed to optimize the best extraction parameters, resulting in the highest yields of EOs, EP, and polysaccharides, which were 31.52 ± 1.46 mg/g, 13.95 ± 0.57 mg/g, and 0.38 ± 0.01 g/g, respectively. GC MS analysis and heatmap visualization revealed that the main components of the EOs were ethyl cinnamate, heptadecane, and EP, accounting for 9.49%, 33.93%, and 45.95%, respectively. Method validation studies confirmed that the precision (RSD% < 2%), stability (recovery rate: 97.22%-99.03%), and spiked recovery (average recovery rate: 97.90%) of EP obtained via UP-MASA met the experimental requirements, ensuring the reliability and accuracy of the results. Compared with traditional hydrodistillation and microwave-assisted extraction, UP-MASA did not cause significant differences in the composition of EOs. This research provides a novel approach for the resource exploitation of active components from K. galanga and the simultaneous extraction of volatile and nonvolatile components from plants.