Optimization of Quercetin Extraction from Schisandra Chinensis by an Ultrasound-Assisted Ionic Liquid-Enzyme Composite System and Its Antioxidant Research Analysis

Abstract

In this study, the effects of enzyme addition, ionic liquid concentration, and sonication time on the yield of quercetin in Schisandra chinensis (S. chinensis) were investigated by one-way experiments and their interactions were investigated with enzyme addition, ionic liquid concentration and sonication time as independent variables. The results showed that when the enzyme addition was 16.413%, the ionic liquid was 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride salt with the concentration of 0.390 mol/L, and the ultrasonication time was 43.770 min, the yield was 0.539 mg/g, which was 8.694 times higher than that of the traditional reflux extraction method. By network pharmacological analysis, 1867 antioxidant targets of quercetin in S. chinensis were screened out.GO and KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that the antioxidant function might be related to the chemical carcinogenesis-reactive oxygen species pathway, PI3K-Akt signalling pathway. The antioxidant activity of quercetin was also investigated by determining the scavenging ability of quercetin on DPPH and hydroxyl radicals. The results showed that the scavenging rates of quercetin on both were 94.510% and 64.922% when the quality concentration of quercetin was 0.06 and 0.4 mg/mL, respectively, and the scavenging rates basically remained unchanged with the increase of concentration.