The Extraction of Ledum palustre L. Essential Oil by Ionic Liquid‐Assisted Hydrodistillation Method for Antioxidant Application

ABSTRACT Plant essential oils, rich in natural bioactive constituents, demonstrate significant antioxidant potential and have emerged as a prominent research focus in this domain. Ledum palustre L. essential oil (LPEO), abundant in terpenoids, exhibits considerable value for its antioxidant mechanisms. However, traditional extraction methods result in low LPEO extraction yield. Consequently, this work employs ionic liquid (IL)‐assisted hydrodistillation, with 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([BMIM]BF 4 ) selected as the optimal IL through systematic screening. The Box–Behnken design (BBD) was used to determine the optimal extraction conditions for LPEO. The optimal extraction yield was 0.839% ± 0.018%. The extraction yield of essential oil extracted from L. palustre was increased by 103.64% compared to traditional hydrodistillation method. Subsequent antioxidant activity assays were conducted on the extracted LPEO, and the experimental data demonstrated that LPEO exhibits excellent scavenging activity against both free radicals and superoxide anions. These findings hold significant reference value for the high‐value utilization of medicinal plant resources.