Influence of water on ethanolic extraction yield of Azadirachta indica leaf

Abstract

For the solid-liquid extractions of plants such as neem (Azadirachta indica) happen, there must be a concentration gradient between two phases (solvent and solute). Thus, the moisture of the vegetable and the solvents used, such as hydroethanolic solutions, interfere in the production of crude extracts. Thus, the present work had the objective of the study of the solid-liquid extraction of solubles from the fresh neem leaf, evaluating the influence of hydroethanolic solvents. To determine moisture, the samples of fresh leaves (n=6) were dehydrated in an oven at 105ºC according to the gravimetric method. The solid-liquid extracts were developed in laboratory cutter (n=3) with 93g of neem “in natura” sheet, using ethyl alcohol P.A. 99.8º GL and hydroethanolic solutions 50 and 20ºGL. The results obtained show that the dry extract produced by extraction with ethyl alcohol PA 99.8ºGL was 231.4% higher when compared with that obtained with the 50ºGL hydroethanol solution and 242.6% higher when compared with the 20ºGL hydroethanolic solution, demonstrating the importance of solvent selection and the influence of water on the extraction of soluble vegetables.