Microwave-assisted improved extraction and purification of anticancer nimbolide from Azadirachta indica (neem) leaves
Open accessAbstract
Nimbolide, a limonoid present in leaves of the neem tree (Azadirachta indica), is an anticancer compound against a panel of human cancer cell lines. The rapid process of extraction and purification of the nimbolide from the leaves of neem tree through microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) coupled with a chromatographic technique was accomplished. The crude with a maximum content of nimbolide could be recovered from neem leaves through MAE. By using three-factors, three-level Box–Behnken design of response surface methodology (RSM), the optimal conditions for nimbolide extraction (R2 = 0.9019) were solid/liquid ratio 1:16 g/mL, microwave power 280 W, and extraction time 22 min. The enriched extract was further purified by a preparative thin-layer chromatography (PTLC), where nimbolide was obtained as 0.0336 g (0.67% yield, purity over 98%) with ethyl acetate/hexane = 4:6 in 3.0 h. Structural elucidation was performed through spectroscopic techniques, including FT-IR, 1H, and 13C-NMR. This method was simple and had a good potential for the purification of bioactive compounds from a natural product.
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At voltages above 70 V, the extraction temperature is high enough and azadirachtin is thermally degraded, because azadirachtin is a thermolabile compound.
“Therefore, it is expected that under these conditions, the extraction temperature is high enough and the metabolite is thermally degraded, since azadirachtin is a thermolabile chemical compound [26,38,39].”
From Optimized microwave-assisted azadirachtin extraction using response surface methodology (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
Results and Discussion §2.2 reports that higher microwave power raised extraction temperature and that high temperature might degrade thermally labile nimbolide. It does not establish that azadirachtin degrades under the citing paper’s conditions or at voltages above 70 V; the compound and operating parameter differ. (LLM, conf=0.84)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMost studies conducted on metabolite and oil extraction processes conform to second-order models.
“Most studies conducted on metabolite and oil extraction processes conform to second-order models [26,32,33].”
From Optimized microwave-assisted azadirachtin extraction using response surface methodology (2024) · cites this paper as [26]
Section 2.3 (page unavailable) reports that this study fitted nimbolide extraction data with a second-order polynomial model. That supports one metabolite-extraction example, but the paper does not establish that most metabolite and oil extraction studies conform to such models. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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- Authors
- Suttiarporn, P., & Choommongkol, V.
- Affiliations
- King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (TH)
- Maejo University (TH)
- Corresponding author
- Choommongkol, Vachira
- Venue
- Molecules
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2020-06-24
- Volume
- 25
- Issue
- 12
- Pages
- 2913
- ISSN
- 1420-3049 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC7356096
- OpenAlex
- W3037166185
- Cited by
- 25
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 0.81
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- dx.doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Molecules (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Phytochemical compounds biological activities
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Phytochemicals and Medicinal Plants
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Insect Pest Control Strategies
- Keywords
- nimbolide, Azadirachta indica, neem leaves, limonoids, microwave-assisted extraction, preparative thin-layer chromatography, extraction optimization, anticancer agents, natural product purification, response surface methodology
- MeSH terms
- Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic, Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid, Chromatography, Thin Layer, Microwaves, Models, Chemical, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Plant Extracts, Solvents, Reproducibility of Results, Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared, Plant Leaves, Azadirachta, Limonins
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