Optimization of microwave-assisted hydro- distillation essential oil extracted from Rumex Crispus leaves using definitive screening design

Conversion of nonfood natural products to value-added products is an important work, which is going on worldwide. In addition, to obtain a product with better quality, a sufficient sep-aration method is helpful to improve its utilization value by using effective, rapid and environmen-tally friendly techniques. Thus in this work, the microwave-assisted hydrodistillation (MAHD) process of essential oils from important natural plant Rumex Crispus leaves was investigated. The experimental design and extraction conditions were optimized using a definitive screening design. The yield of essential oils of 4.67 +/- 0.02 % was investigated under the optimum conditions; 534.89 W of microwave power, 23.48 min of hydrodistillation time and 4.5 mL/g of the volume of water to plant mass ratio. Under these conditions, the essential oils were analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Results revealed that the essential oil extracted by MAHD possessed high quality as proved by its higher percentage of oxygenated compounds. In addition, a-santol (29.63 %) and b-santol (25.60 %) are the primary components of oxygenated compounds in essential oils. In conclusion, the MAHD was successfully employed to obtain mainly Oxygenated compounds-rich essential oil that may be used in several industrial applications. Sub-sequently, a definitive screening design may be regarded as an alternative and reliable method for the prediction of experimental parameters. It was concluded that the weeds plant (Rumex Crispus) contains a reliable quantity of oils that is extremely feasible to use and recommended as good feed-stock for possible use in industrial applications. CO, 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).