Zuamil Villagran  
1 Centro Universitario de los Altos, Universidad de Guadalajara, Tequitain de Morelos 47620, Mexico; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (N.R.-B. ); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (Nhybrid corns are highly used at the industrial scale due to their higher production yields. On the other hand, Mexico is also known for its diversity of pigmented corn cultivars (comprising 68 from 350 cultivars reported in the Americas) that include white, yellow, red, pink, blue, purple, and black corn kernel colors [5; 6], which are considered native and are produced and consumed locally due to their low production yields [7]. These pigmented corn kernels (mainly darker pigmented corns) contain phytochemicals (phenolic acids, flavonoids, caroten, and anthocyanins) that exhibit a broad spectrum of biological properties (inflammatory, antibacterial, antidiabetic, antiproliferative, and antioxidant effects), which can be potentially used for diverse industrial applications [1; 8]. Traditional technologies for extracting bioactive compounds from plant materials include maceration, hydro-distillation, and Soxhlet extraction [9]. However, these methods may degrade bioactive compounds and produce low extraction yields due to their harsh conditions, including long extraction times and high temperatures [1; 10]. Diverse authors have utilized different extraction methods such as magnetic stirring (5 g powder/5 mL acetone water 70:30 for 60 min), constant agitation at 500 rpm (1 g powder/10 mL 80% ethanol for 15 min), and infrared-assisted extraction (1 g powder/70 mL water for 132 min at 73 \({}^{\circ}\)C) to extract phenolic compounds from pigmented corn kernels. These extraction methods exhibited advantages and limitations, mainly because they were time-consuming and recovered low yields. In contrast, non-conventional extraction technologies, particularly ultrasound, have emerged as an efficient alternative for extracting bioactive compounds from plant materials [1]. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) is an advanced, innovative, popular, simple-to-operate, cheap, fast, environmentally friendly, efficient, and sustainable alternative for extracting bioactive compounds from plant sources with good recovery yield [11]. UAE is based on the propagation of ultrasound waves (frequency of 20-100 kHz) in a liquid medium, causing a cavitation phenomenon (transient or stable) where, under compression and rarefaction of the acoustic field, cavitation bubbles grow and eventually collapse, promoting physical and chemical effects, breaking down the plant cell wall. After the implosion of the cavitation bubbles, the UAE involves solvent diffusion through the plant cell wall that facilitates the release of cellular components (phytochemicals) following the breakdown of the cell's outer layer [12]. This method has been successful in extracting phenolic compounds from various plant sources [13] and has been applied to maize-based materials such as corn pericarp [14], maize filaments [15; 16], and corn husk [17]. In contrast, anthocyanins have been extracted by ultrasound from pigmented corn kernel samples [18; 19] and carotenoids from yellow corn meal [20]. However, UAE process optimization is essential, as various factors influence the extraction process. In this context, diverse statistical and mathematical strategies, including Box-Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM) analysis, have been successfully used to examine UAE process optimization for extracting bioactive compounds from plant sources [21; 22; 23; 24].