Extraction of mucilage from Ogbono (Irvingia gabonnensis), Okra (Abelmosus esculentus(L) monech) and Achi (Brachystegia eurycoma) using microwave assisted Method

Abstract

This study investigated the extraction of mucilage from the plant seeds of Ogbono (Irvingia gabonnensis), Okra (Abelmosus esculentus(L) monarch), and  Achi (Brachystegia eurycoma)  using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method and the results compared to the conventional extraction method.  Mucilage which is widely used in both food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries as a thickener, binder, emulsifier, stabilizer, etc is mainly extracted using solvent extraction method (conventional method)  but microwave assisted method has proven to be more efficient with higher yield and reduced boiling timet by this study. The plant has been extracted by conventional and microwave-assisted methods for the isolation of mucilage. Microwave extraction at 420W intensity and 5 minutes heating duration increased 15.69%, 32.66%, and 22.64% for Achi, Okra, and Ogbono respectively in the yield(%) of mucilage when compared to the 1-hour conventional heating method.  The effects of four extraction variables such as seed-to-water ratios (1:10-1:60w/w), temperatures (30-100^oC), pH (3-11), and time (3-20minutes) for MAE, 30-120minutes for CE) on the yield of mucilage of the three seeds were also evaluated. . It was observed that the MAE recorded highest yield of mucilage of 20.669%  for Achi , 51.31 for Ogbono and 37.885% for Okra. It was concluded that microwave heating is very effective for the extraction of mucilage from plant seeds by producing a better mucilage yield and reduced heating time  It was also concluded that four process parameters investigated affect the yield of mucilage of the seeds studied. The microwave developed procedure can be recommended for both commercial and laboratory isolation of mucilage from plant seeds.