The Application of Taguchi Method in the Optimization of Dispersive Liquid - Liquid Microextraction of Menthe piperita Floral Water

Microextraction is regarded as an extraction technique where the volume of the extracting phase is much smaller than the sample. Therefore extraction does not take place completely and thus a fraction of analytes is transferred in to the extracting phase. However in some cases after the extraction the concentration of extractable correlates with the initial concentration. Therefore the aim of this research work is the optimization of liquid –liquid micro extraction of Menthe piperita floral water. Floral water of Menthe piperita was obtained from the local market. Ethanol and chloroform were used as extracting solvents and the obtained chemical compounds were applied onto a GC- MS. Taguchi method was applied to determine the optimum extraction of active compounds in the sample. The application of Taguchi method indicated that ethanol and chloroform tetra chloride at the concentrations of 500 and 60 showed the highest microextraction rate respectively. 93% of the chemical compounds present in the sample were identified using the least quantity and volume of the extracting solvent.