ENHANCING THE ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY OF CHAMOMILE: EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ULTRASOUND ON PROTEIN EXTRACTION.

Chamomile flower, a well-known medicinal plant, possesses significant antioxidant properties attributed to its diverse array of bioactive compounds, including antioxidant proteins. These proteins are vital in combating oxidative stress and neutralizing harmful free radicals. To fully harness the antioxidant potential of chamomile, it is imperative to optimize the extraction methods. This study evaluates the effectiveness of nonconventional mechanical extraction methods using ultrasound to extract antioxidant compounds from chamomile, comparing it with a traditional agitation-based technique. The extracts obtained using green solvents such as basic aqueous solutions or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) showed that while the ultrasound extraction requires a shorted extraction time compared to traditional methods, it yields a more active extract in terms of antioxidant activity. These active constituent-rich extracts were then subjected to thorough characterization and quantification using advanced analytical techniques, such as gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, UV-vis, and FTIR spectroscopy. Finally, the antioxidant capacity of the aqueous extract was determined using the DPPH free radical method and the FRAP assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]