Application of MAE in the extraction of flavonoids from C. paliurus leaves dramatically reduced extraction time. Under optimised conditions the experimental yield agreed closely with the predicted yield. The flavonoids obtained by MAE exhibited good antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 0.146 mg/mL. Thus, MAE was proposed as an alternative for the extraction of flavonoids from C. paliurus leaves, and RSM was an useful tool for the optimisation of MAE process of flavonoids from C. paliurus leaves.
Conflict of interest