Establishment of pressurized-liquid extraction by response surface methodology approach coupled to HPLC-DAD-TOF-MS for the determination of phenolic compounds of myrtle leaves

Myrtus communis L. (myrtle) is native to the Mediterranean region and Western Asia. Its leaves have demonstrated its potential effect towards different bioactivities like anti-diabetic, anti-diarrheic, anti-ulcer, anti-cancer, among others. These activities have been associated with its phenolic content. In this sense, the aim of this work has been to develop a new pressurized-liquid extraction procedure (PLE), by using a response surface methodology (RSM), to evaluate the phenolic composition from myrtle leaves by HPLC-DAD-TOF-MS. Previously, different solvents such as methanol, ethanol, and acetone/water mixtures were tested by using ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) in order to select the most suitable one. Subsequently, a Box-Behnken design (BBD) was performed according to the effect of ethanol/water ratio (50, 75, and 100% (v/v)), temperature (50, 125, and 200 °C), and extraction time (5, 18, and 30 min). The optimal conditions achieved with the established method were 71% ethanol/water, 137 °C, and 19 min. The analysis of the obtained extracts by HPLC-DAD-TOF-MS allowed the characterization of 15 new compounds in myrtle leaves. Finally, high amounts of gallic and ellagic acid were found in the optimized PLE extracts (3.31 ± 0.03 and 3.88 ± 0.09 mg/g leaf dry weight (d.w.), respectively), and PLE reported greater recovery of total phenolic compounds than UAE (30 ± 1 and 22.4 ± 0.6 mg/g leaf d.w., respectively).