Ionic-liquid-based ultrasound/microwave-assisted extraction of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one and 6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2-one from maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings

We evaluated an ionic-liquid-based ultrasound/microwave-assisted extraction method for the extraction of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one and 6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2-one from etiolated maize seedlings. We performed single-factor and central composite rotatable design experiments to optimize the most important parameters influencing this technique. The best results were obtained using 1.00 M 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide as the extraction solvent, a 50°C extraction temperature, a 20:1 liquid/solid ratio (mL/g), a 21 min treatment time, 590 W microwave power, and 50 W fixed ultrasonic power. We performed a comparison between ionic-liquid-based ultrasound/microwave-assisted extraction and conventional homogenized extraction. Extraction yields of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one and 6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2-one by the ionic-liquid-based ultrasound/microwave-assisted extraction method were 1.392 ± 0.051 and 0.205 ± 0.008 mg/g, respectively, which were correspondingly 1.46- and 1.32-fold higher than those obtained by conventional homogenized extraction. All the results show that the ionic-liquid-based ultrasound/microwave-assisted extraction method is therefore an efficient and credible method for the extraction of 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one and 6-methoxy-benzoxazolin-2-one from maize seedlings.