Green Methods for Extraction of Polysaccharides from the Fruits of Pithecellobium dulce

A study was conducted to develop a rapid, simple microwave assisted extraction (MAE) methods for the extraction of for the polysaccharide from Pithecellobium dulce pods utilizing fundamental principles of “green” chemistry. The plant is reported to be a folk remedy for ear and toothache. It also acts as an emollient, anodyne and larvicidal in folk medicine. As the fruit is liked by common people throughout the country especially by the local residents of Vellore, a scientific investigation on the edible part of the plant was initiated in our laboratory. Optimization of extraction procedures using modern technologies significantly reduces the quantity of solvent consumed and waste generated during an extraction process. Thus microwave assisted extraction combined with soxhlet extraction (MASE) is demonstrated in our lab. Analysis of variance showed that the contribution of the quadratic model was significant for the responses. Under the optimum conditions, the extraction yield of crude polysaccharides was 63.7%. Whereas the combined experimental model (MASE) with 20% alcohol as extracting solvent resulted in the percentage of yield as 72.8%. This chapter outlines a systematic approach for optimization of an extraction procedure for isolation of potential polysaccharide from plant sources. The extracts were tested to determine the total polysaccharide content, total phenolic content and total flavonoid content and the quantitative analysis was correlated with the methods established.