(474b) Betulinic Acid From Leaves of Vitex Negundo Linn in Batch Reactor

Extraction of betulinic acid from leaves of Vitex Negundo Linn was carried out in a series of solvents (methanol, ethanol, isopropyl alcohol, and water). Methanol was found to extract maximum, therefore, maximum recoverable amount was obtained using Soxhlet extraction. Factors (e. g. particle size, speed of agitation, solid loading, and temperature) influencing rate of recovery was separately studied in a stirred batch reactor. The recovered mass was estimated using reverse phase HPLC system with symmetry C-18 column, and UV detector (λ=210nm). The fraction collected from HPLC was confirmed with MS spectra analysis and the same was found to match with the standard spectra. Effective diffusivity of the acid in each solvent and temperatures were estimated using unsteady state mass diffusion model (flat particle geometry for leaves). Diffusivities of betulinic acid through cellulose matrix of leaves were estimated (1.7x10^-13 to 923x10^-13 m²/sec) in the whole range of temperatures of the experiments. The energy of activation for betulinic acid was found in the range 39 to 139 kJ/mol for various solvents selected.