Evaluation of green and efficient deep eutectic solvents as media for extracting alkaloids from lotus leaf

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) were applied as eco-friendly solvents in this study for the extraction of alkaloids from lotus leaf, including O-nornuciferine, N-nornuciferine, nuciferine and roemerine. A series of hydrophilic and hydrophobic DESs with different hydrogen bond donors and a acceptors were synthesized and screened for a suitable DESs for extraction of alkaloids from lotus leaf. The study results showed that the hydrophilic DES with choline chloride and propanediol had the highest extraction yield. The main factors affecting the extraction efficiency—choline chloride–propanediol ratio, water content in deep eutectic solvents, solid–liquid ratio and extraction time—were investigated via a single-factor experiment. The optimized extraction conditions were 30% of water in choline chloride–propanediol (1:4) for heated extraction for 30 min and solid–liquid ratio 1:100 g/ml. Under optimum conditions, the extraction yields of O-nornuciferine, N-nornuciferine, nuciferine and roemerine were 0.069, 0.152, 0.334 and 0.041 g/100 g respectively, which were higher than those of methanol in acidified aqueous solution. This study suggests considerable potential for DESs as promising materials for the green and efficient extraction solvents for bioactive alkaloids from natural sources.