Kinetics studies on the ascorbic acid extraction from roselle calyces

The effect of processing conditions of roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) calyces on the vitamin C content of the extracts was studied to develop models that best describe the process. The extraction parameters are the processing time (5, 10, 15 mins), process temperature (30oC, 50°C, 75°C and 100°C), and calyx-water mass ratio (1:50, 1:20 and 1:10). These samples were tested for ascorbic acid using the spectrophotometric method. Statistical analysis was conducted on the experimental results and regression models were developed. A total of six mathematical models were selected for the description of vitamin C extraction from the calyces. The results showed that time, temperature and calyx-water mass ratio have a linear significant effect (p ≤ 0.01); while time-temperature and temperature-ratio had a significant (p ≤ 0.05) interaction effect; time and temperature had a significant quadratic effect on the vitamin C content of the extract. Pseudo-first-order gave the highest overall coefficient of determination R2 and lowest overall root mean square error (RMSE).