Bambara groundnut, an underutilized crop in West Africa, is rich in primary and secondary metabolites, particularly polyphenols. Polyphenols are valued for their bioactive potential and extensive food applications. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is recognized for enhancing the extraction of total phenolic compounds (TPC) from various plant sources. This study examines the kinetics of UAE using Peleg’s kinetic model, focusing on several key factors: ultrasonic amplitude (30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%), temperature (10°C, 20°C, 30°C, and 40°C), solid-solvent ratio (SSR) (1:10, 1:20, and 1:30 g/mL), and particle size (0.15, 0.25, and 0.425 mm) all in 45 min extraction time. The results showed that all these factors are crucial in successfully extracting the targeted compounds. However, maximum TPC was obtained at 60% ultrasonic amplitude (0.23 mgGAE/gdm), 0.25 mm particle size, and 40 °C temperature, suggesting amplitude as the major contributing factor. Similarly, the maximum diffusion and mass transfer coefficients were found to be 25.6 × 10-10 m2/s and 34.75 m/s, respectively, at 60 °C. The kinetic model agrees strongly with the experimental data, as indicated by the coefficient of determination (R2 > 0.9) for all the experiments and root mean square deviation (RMSD < 0.1). This study not only reiterates the effectiveness of UAE in enhancing the extraction process in terms of time and yield but also provides valuable insights into the extraction kinetics of TPC from Bambara groundnut, instilling confidence in the potential of this method for large-scale applications.
Key words: Bambara groundnut, Ultrasound-assisted extraction, Kinetic models, Polyphenols, Peleg’s, Modeling
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