Abstract Laurus nobilis leaves have phenolic and flavonoid compounds with strong antioxidant properties. However, the studies on their extraction mechanisms are limited. This work comprehensively evaluated the extraction process through kinetics, thermodynamics, mass transfer, and statistical optimization. Kinetic modelling revealed that the pseudo‐first‐order (PFO) model best fitted the data, indicating a diffusion‐controlled extraction with a very low activation energy ( E a = 1.27 kJ mol −1 ). Thermodynamic study showed an endothermic (Δ H = 4.60 kJ mol −1 ), spontaneous (Δ G = −5.20 to −6.52 kJ mol −1 ), and entropy‐driven process (Δ S = 0.0329 kJ mol −1 K −1 ). Effective diffusivity ( D e ) values and Biot numbers (Bi) > 40 showed that internal resistance governed mass transfer. 2‐level Plackett–Burman factorial design screened the effective factors as solid mass, solvent volume, and solvent concentration. The determined parameters were optimized with Box–Behnken design of response surface method (RSM) to get the highest yields of 9.9 mg‐GAE/g‐DM of total phenolic content (TPC), 20.3 mg‐CE/g‐DM of total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity (2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS) 22.3 mg‐TEAC/g‐DM; cupric ion reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC)) 101.7 mg‐TEAC/g‐DM). Consequently, the integrated kinetic, thermodynamic, mass transfer and RSM optimization approach demonstrates the feasibility of an energy‐efficient and diffusion‐controlled extraction process, showing the industrial potential of L. nobilis leaves as a natural antioxidant source.
Tunç et al. (Sun,) studied this question.