Yield Optimization for the Extraction of Organic Compounds from Okra Leaves Wastes

An important area of research is the extraction of organic chemicals from plants and herbs. Considering the fact that the extracts have numerous commercial and pharmacological uses. Furthermore, limiting the optimal working region is made easier by employing an appropriate experimental design. Solvent extraction is the technique most frequently used to separate organic components from plants. However, the conditions of extracting solvent that is utilized greatly affects the yields of the extract and, as a result, the organic activities of the plant parts. This research deals with the extraction of solid organic compounds from the okra leaves using water as a solvent. A Soxhlet apparatus was used for the extraction process. The influence of extraction time, solvent volume, and okra powder mass on the yield percentage was optimized. Two mathematical models were suggested: second-order polynomials and power models. A higher correlation coefficient was obtained with the polynomial model. The maximum extraction yield was obtained at optimum values of 200.3 min, 29.07 g, and 290.7 ml for time, okra powder mass, and solvent volume, respectively. It is evident from mathematical formulas that the impact of time was less significant than the effects of solvent volume and powder mass. On the other hand, the power model and the second-order quadratic interaction model had correlation coefficients of 0.4849 and 0.9707, respectively.