Extraction of Glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. root using ethanol modified supercritical CO2: RSM optimization and mathematical modeling

Hedayati, Ali; Ghoreishi, Seyyed Mohammad

doi:10.22104/ift.2026.8092.2264

Extraction of Glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. root using ethanol modified supercritical CO2: RSM optimization and mathematical modeling

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Ali Hedayati ¹

Seyyed Mohammad Ghoreishi ²

¹ Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology (IROST), Department of Chemical Technologies, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Chemical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

10.22104/ift.2026.8092.2264

Abstract

In this study, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of glabridin (GB) from licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) roots was carried out using CO2 as the solvent and ethanol as a co-solvent. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed for the design of experiments (DOEs), modeling and optimization of GB extraction recovery. Temperature (40-80 °C), pressure (8-24 MPa), CO2 flow rate (0.5-2.5 ml/min) and dynamic extraction time (20-100 min) were considered as independent operating variables. At all experiments the static extraction time and co-solvent flow rate were kept constant at 30 min and 5 vol. % of the CO2 flow rate, respectively. The GB content in the extracted samples was quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The maximum extraction recovery of 60±2% was obtained at the optimal conditions of 40 °C, 24 MPa, 1.8 ml CO2/min and 76 min. The isotherms of GB recovery were also obtained as a function of time at 24 MPa and a CO₂ flow rate of 1.8 mL min⁻¹. Moreover, a mechanistic mass-transfer model incorporating solid-fluid equilibrium, interphase mass transfer, axial dispersion and intraparticle diffusion was developed to describe the extraction kinetics. The developed model successfully predicted the experimental data with an overall average absolute relative deviation (AARD) of approximately 4.2%.

Graphical Abstract

Extraction of Glabridin from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. root using ethanol modified supercritical CO2: RSM optimization and mathematical modeling

Highlights

Glabridin was extracted from licorice using ethanol-modified supercritical CO₂.
Response surface methodology optimized operating conditions of the SFE process.
A maximum glabridin recovery of 60 ± 2 % was achieved at 40 °C and 24 MPa.
Pressure and dynamic extraction time were the most influential variables.
A mechanistic mass-transfer model predicted extraction kinetics with AARD ≈ 4.2 %.

Keywords

Supercritical CO2

Extraction

Glabridin

Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice)

Mathematical Modeling

Subjects

Food component extraction

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