en Food Safety and Hygiene Food Safety and Hygiene پژوهشي Original Article <div><span style="line-height:1;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><b><span style="color:black">Background:</span></b><span style="color:black"> The current study aimed to optimize microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for the recovery of bioactive compounds from <i>Veronica Persica </i>and to enhance extraction yield through ultrasonic pretreatment as an emerging technique. </span><br> <b><span style="color:black">Methods:</span></b><span style="color:black"> The MAE was optimized in terms of microwave power, solid-to-solvent ratio, and irradiation time through response surface methodology (RSM) for maximum extraction yield. The extraction yield was further enhanced by using ultrasonic pretreatment with different levels of ultrasound power, temperature, and sonication time. The total phenolic content and radical scavenging activity were determined through the Folin-Ciocalteu method and DPPH and OH free radicals scavenging activity assays, respectively.</span><br> <b><span style="color:black">Results:</span></b><span style="color:black"> The optimal conditions for maximizing extraction yield were 211 W microwave power, 14 min irradiation time, and 1:33.5 g/mL solid-to-solvent ratio. Under the optimal conditions, the predicted extraction yield was 12.12%. The results confirmed that ultrasonic pretreatment effectively enhanced the release of bioactive compounds from aerial parts of <i>V. persica</i>. Moreover, scanning electron microscopy images indicated a positive effect of ultrasonic pretreatment on enhancing bioactive compound recovery through damage to the cell structure of the treated samples.</span><br> <b><span style="color:black">Conclusion:</span></b><span style="color:black"> The results indicated that using ultrasonic and microwave energy can speed up the extraction process and increase the quality of the extracted biomass.</span></span></span></span></div> Bioactive compounds, Free radical scavenging activity, Optimization, Sonication, Veronica Persica, 143 151 http://jhehp.zums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-629-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Zohreh Daliri Sosefi zohrehdaliri.1206@gmail.com 100319475328460015745 100319475328460015745 No Department of Food Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. Mandana Bimakr mandana.bimakr@znu.ac.ir 100319475328460015746 100319475328460015746 Yes Department of Food Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. Ali Ganjloo aganjloo@znu.ac.ir 100319475328460015747 100319475328460015747 No Department of Food Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.