Optimization of Subcritical Water Hydrolysis of Rutin into Isoquercetin and Quercetin

Maximum production of isoquercetin and quercetin simultaneously from rutin by subcritical water hydrolysis (SWH) was optimized using the response surface methodology. Hydrolysis parameters such as temperature, time, and CO₂ pressure were selected as independent variables, and isoquercetin and quercetin yields were selected as dependent variables. The regression models of the yield of isoquercetin and quercetin were valid due to the high F-value and low P-value. Furthermore, the high regression coefficient indicated that the polynomial model equation provides a good approximation of experimental results. In maximum production of isoquercetin from rutin, the hydrolysis temperature was the major factor, and the temperature or time can be lower if the CO₂ pressure was increased high enough, thereby preventing the degradation of isoquercetin into quercetin. The yield of quercetin was considerably influenced by temperature instead of time and CO₂ pressure. The optimal condition for maximum production of isoquercetin and quercetin simultaneously was temperature of 171.4°C, time of 10.0 min, and CO₂ pressure of 11.0 MPa, where the predicted maximum yields of isoquercetin and quercetin were 13.7% and 53.3%, respectively. Hydrolysis temperature, time, and CO₂ pressure for maximum production of isoquercetin were lower than those of quercetin. Thermal degradation products such as protocatechuic acid and 2,5-dihydroxyacetophenone were observed due to pyrolysis at high temperature. It was concluded that rutin can be easily converted into isoquercetin and quercetin by SWH under CO₂ pressure, and this result can be applied for SWH of rutin-rich foodstuffs.