## 4 Discussion
The authors postulate that the technology of grinding and controlled sieving is an effective tool for increasing the antioxidant activity and polyphenol content in plant products [28]. The validity of using ground _S. officinalis_ herb in our own research is confirmed in the previously published study by [PERSON] et al. (2024). This study presents the results of the extraction of unground dried great burnet herb, 0.5-1 cm in size. Analogously to the presented study, the antioxidant activity and total polyphenol content of ethanolic extracts prepared in 40%, 70%, and 96% \(v/v\) aqueous alcohol solutions were examined. Depending on the solvent concentration used, they obtained antioxidant activity, assessed using the DPPH technique, ranging from 127 to 186 mg Trolox/L. The TPC was in the range of 128-203 mg GA/L [4]. Comparing the results presented by us with the observations made in the cited study, it can be seen that using ground raw material for extraction led to more than a 15-fold increase in antioxidant activity and more than a 10-fold increase in the content of polyphenols in the extracts, even though the processing time was reduced from 60 min to 10 min. These results clearly indicate the beneficial effect of grinding and sieving the plant material used to extract compounds with antioxidant potential from various plants, including the _Sanguisorbae herba_. The extraction process was carried out at a constant, controlled temperature of 40 \(\pm\) 1 \({}^{\circ}\)C. Many authors indicate that an increase in the process temperature may have a beneficial effect on the extraction efficiency of biologically active compounds from plant material due to an increase in the solubility of dissolved substances as well as the diffusion coefficient. An increase in temperature may also reduce the solvent's viscosity and surface tension, soften plant tissues, and improve the release of antioxidants into the solvent. However, higher temperatures may cause the denaturation of phenolic compounds, a change in their stability due to chemical or enzymatic degradation, and losses due to thermal decomposition [29; 30; 31]. The optimum temperature of 40 \({}^{\circ}\)C for the extraction of polyphenols is reported in the literature [32]. The optimal concentration of _S. officinalis_ herb in the extract was 7.5 g/100 mL of solvent (the solvent-to-material ratio was 13.3 mL/g). In the case of the antioxidant activity assessed by the DPPH method, it was noted that reducing the concentration of the raw material below 7.5 g/ 100 mL of solvent using the optimal ethanol concentration (47% \(v/v\)) caused a decrease in the value of the tested function below 12.9 mmol Trolox/L. The results from the FRAP method showed a similar relationship. Using the optimal extraction time (10 min), the highest activity (i.e., 19.4 mmol FeSO\({}_{4}\)/L) was achieved with the highest concentration of the raw material in the sample, while its reduction resulted in a decrease in the tested potential. We made similar observations regarding the total polyphenol content. We obtained the highest concentration of polyphenols in the extract (2.1 g GA/L) during 10 min UAE, using a raw material concentration of 7.5 g/100 mL of solvent. The observations of higher polyphenol content and antioxidant activity at the highest concentration of plant material in the sample are consistent with mass transfer principles. The higher the solvent-to-material ratio, the higher the total amount of solids obtained, regardless of the solvent used [30]. [PERSON] et al. (2007) obtained similar solid-solvent ratio values as in our study. The authors optimised the sour cherry pomace (solid)/ethanol (solvent) ratio within the range of 0.05, 0.15, and 0.25 g/mL. The optimal ratio in terms of antioxidant activity was determined to be 0.06-0.07 g/mL (6-7 g of plant raw material/100 mL of solvent) [33]. [PERSON] et al. (2016) optimised the solvent: the seaweed (_Laurencia obtuse_) ratio was in the range of 10:1-30:1 for the antioxidant activity and TPC.