This scientic publication in digital format is a continuation of the Printed Review: Legal Deposit pp 196802ZU42, ISSN 0378-7818.
    Rev. Fac. Agron. (LUZ). 2024, 41(3): e244128 July-September. ISSN 2477-9407.
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Resumen
El estudio cinético de la extracción sólido-líquido de cafeína 
en  Ilex guayusa Loes aborda una etapa crítica en el aislamiento 
de alcaloides como la cafeína. La extracción sólido-líquido, una 
técnica ampliamente utilizada, desempeña un papel fundamental en 
la obtención de estos compuestos. El estudio tuvo como objetivo 
evaluar la aplicabilidad de la ecuación de Peleg para modelar la 
extracción sólido-líquido de cafeína en hojas de Ilex guayusa Loes. 
El contenido de cafeína se determinó por espectroscopía de absorción 
UV-visible. La cinética de extracción se estimó utilizando la ecuación 
de Peleg de dos parámetros. La correspondencia de los resultados 
experimentales y los predichos por el modelo se estableció mediante 
el cálculo de correlación de Pearson. Los resultados indicaron efectos 
signicativos  de  la  temperatura  y  el  tiempo  de  extracción  en  el 
contenido de cafeína, con concentraciones que variaron desde 0,24 
hasta 1,52 g.100 g
-1
 a diferentes temperaturas de extracción (30, 40 
y 50 °C).  La ecuación de  Peleg modeló ecazmente la cinética de 
extracción de cafeína, con altos coecientes de correlación de Pearson 
(0,96895 a 0,99685) que conrmaron su idoneidad para predecir la 
concentración de cafeína. Estos resultados resaltan la importancia de 
comprender la cinética de extracción para optimizar los procesos de 
extracción de cafeína, ofreciendo ideas valiosas para las industrias 
que utilizan extractos de Ilex guayusa Loes.
Palabras clave: cinética, ecuación de Peleg, extracto acuoso, modelo 
matemático.
Resumo
O estudo cinético da extracção sólido-líquido da cafeína em Ilex 
guayusa Loes aborda uma etapa crítica no isolamento de alcalóides 
como a cafeína. A extração sólido-líquido, técnica muito utilizada, 
desempenha um papel fundamental na obtenção destes compostos. O 
estudo teve como objetivo avaliar a aplicabilidade da equação de Peleg 
para modelar a extração sólido-líquido de cafeína em folhas de Ilex 
guayusa Loes. O teor de cafeína foi determinado por espectroscopia 
de absorção UV-visível. A cinética de extração foi estimada através 
da equação de Peleg de dois parâmetros. A correspondência entre os 
resultados experimentais e os previstos pelo modelo foi estabelecida 
pelo cálculo da correlação de Pearson. Os resultados indicaram 
efeitos signicativos da temperatura e do tempo de extração no teor 
de cafeína, com concentrações que variaram entre 0,24 a 1,52 g.100 
g
-1
 a diferentes temperaturas de extração (30, 40 e 50 °C). A equação 
de Peleg modelou ecazmente a cinética de extração de cafeína, com 
elevados coecientes de correlação de Pearson (0,96895 a 0,99685) 
conrmando a sua adequação para prever a concentração de cafeína. 
Estes resultados realçam a importância de compreender a cinética de 
extração para otimizar os processos de extração de cafeína, oferecendo 
informações valiosas para as indústrias que utilizam extratos de Ilex 
guayusa Loes.
Palavras-chave: cinética, equação de Peleg, extrato aquoso, modelo 
matemático. 
Introduction
Caeine, a methylxanthine naturally present in several plants, has 
been the subject of extensive research due to its stimulant eects on 
the human central nervous system (Mahoney et al., 2019). Among 
these plants, Ilex guayusa Loes, a shrubby species in the family 
Aquifoliaceae,  has  emerged  as  a  promising  source  of  caeine, 
especially in the Amazon of South America (Kelebek et al., 2024). 
The  solid-liquid  extraction  of  caeine  in  I. guayusa represents a 
fascinating and relevant eld of study in the current scientic context.
The extraction of bioactive compounds represents a fundamental 
step in the isolation and identication of alkaloids such as caeine 
(Rajput, 2022), and there is no single method that guarantees its 
eciency. Among  the  most  commonly  used  extraction  techniques 
for alkaloid isolation is solid-liquid extraction (Vandeponseele et 
al., 2021), which plays a key role in obtaining these compounds. To 
describe the mechanism underlying this process, Fick’s second law of 
diusion is commonly employed, oering an in-depth understanding 
of the matter transfer processes involved (Li et al., 2020; Hashim et 
al., 2023).
Recent research has reported the caeine content in I. guayusa 
(Paladines-Santacruz et al., 2021; Carvalho et al., 2021). However, 
bibliographic data on the extraction kinetics of the solid-liquid 
process are scarce. This lack of specic  information highlights the 
need to develop mathematical models that facilitate the simulation, 
design, and control of extraction processes, thus contributing to the 
ecient use of resources such as energy, time, and solvent.
On the other hand, mathematical models have an important role 
in describing sorption processes, such as dehydration (Korniyenko 
and Ladieva, 2021) and rehydration of food products (Tepe, 2024). 
Among these models, the non-exponential Peleg model (Lalji et al., 
2022), which consists of two parameters, has proven to be particularly 
useful. Given the similarity between extraction kinetics and sorption, 
the study aimed to evaluate the applicability of Peleg's equation to 
model  the  solid-liquid  extraction  of  caeine  in  the  leaves  of  Ilex 
guayusa Loes.
Materials and methods
Experiment location and sample preparation
This study was carried out at the Bromatology Laboratory of the 
Amazonian State University, located at km 2 ½ on the road to Tena, 
in the canton and province of Pastaza, with an altitude of 940 meters 
above sea level, 00° 59 ́-1” latitude and 77° 49 ́0” west longitude. 
The leaves of 
I. guayusa were purchased in  the market of the  city 
of  Puyo,  Pastaza-Ecuador,  at  coordinates  1.4837°  S  78.0026°  W. 
The leaves were washed with deionized water and then dried under 
shade at room temperature. Subsequently, they were placed in a stove 
(Memmert brand, SFE700 model) at 40 °C for 72 h, and the humidity 
present in the leaves was  calculated  by mass dierence (Yu  et al., 
2022). The result was used to express the initial mass of the leaves 
based  on  the  dry  matter. The  plant  material  was  crushed  in  a  mill 
(KitchenAid brand, BCG111OB model), with a nominal frequency of 
60 Hz. They were then sieved to obtain particles smaller than 0.5 mm.       
  
Preparation of the extracts
For  the  solid-liquid  extraction  of  caeine,  the  ultrasound-
assisted extraction technique (UAE) was performed using Wisd.23 
equipment, WUC-DO6H model according to the procedure described 
by Peñael-Bonilla et al. (2023).  In each experiment, 5 ± 0.1 g of 
ground  I. guayusa was weighed  into round-bottom asks, and 100 
mL  of  distilled  water  was  added.  Each  extraction  was  performed 
in triplicate at 30, 40, and 50 °C for periods ranging from 10 to 90 
minutes, with 5 intervals for each temperature. The obtained extracts 
were  ltered  using  Whatman  No.  4  lter  paper  and  the  caeine 
analyses were carried out immediately.