Investigation and optimisation of the extraction of carvone and limonene from the Iranian Mentha spicata through the ultrasound-assisted extraction method

ABSTRACT In this study, the ultrasonic-assisted extraction (UAE) method is utilised for the extraction of carvone and limonene from the Mentha spicata species. The Box–Behnken design (BBD) is applied for finding a suitable correlation and the optimisation of the extraction parameters. The parameters considered were the ultrasonic amplitude (20-100%), extraction time (20-60 min), and the solvent to solid particles ratio (10-30 mL/g). Optimal conditions for both carvone and limonene extraction yields were determined to be at the ultrasonic amplitude of 95% (380 W), extraction time of 51 min, and the solvent liquid to solid particles ratio of 24 mL/g. Under these conditions, the extraction yields of carvone and limonene were 19.958 and 5.957 mg/g, respectively; agreeing well with the values predicted by the correlation. The results suggested that the UAE method could be an efficient technique for the extraction of constituents from the Mentha spicata species.