An eco-friendly method for extraction and quantification of flavonoids in Dysphania ambrosioides

Dysphania ambrosioides (L.) Mosyakin and Clemants (Syn: Chenopodium ambrosioides L.), Amaranthaceae, is a plant with antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, antiparasitic and antitumor properties that is commonly used in Brazilian folk medicine. In this work we performed the optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of flavonoids in the aerial parts of D. ambrosioides. The flavonoid concentrations, as rutin equivalents, were quantified with the aid of a validated spectrophotometric method. The Box–Behnken (33) design with response surface methodology, for the independent variables, extraction time, temperature, and ethanol content, were used for the optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction. The analytical method was selective, linear, without matrix interference, accurate, precise and robust. The best conditions for the ultrasound-assisted extraction of flavonoids were: time of 60 min, temperature of 57 °C and ethanol content of 57% (w/w). The methods of extracting and quantifying flavonoids developed in the present study have provided be eco-friendly, simple, and useful to determine the flavonoid content, expressed as rutin equivalents, in the aerial parts of D. ambrosioides.