Kaempferol Extraction from Cuscuta reflexa using Supercritical Carbon Dioxide and Separation of Kaempferol from the Extracts

Kaempferol, a strong antioxidant, was extracted from Cuscuta reflexa (a medicinal plant) using supercritical CO2 and separated using thin-layer chromatography, column chromatography and HPLC analysis. A rotatable central composite design was used to determine the influence of process variables and arrive at optimal processing conditions in the supercritical CO2 extraction process of kaempferol. The kaempferol yield was effectively modelled as a function of the independent variables (temperature, time and pressure). The kaempferol yield increased with the increasing of temperature and time and decreasing of pressure of the supercritical CO2 extraction process. The predicted kaempferol yield at the optimum point was 52.92 micrograms/g and the optimum conditions were 50.7 degrees C for 132.6 min and 15.9 MPa.