Ten phenolic acids were recovered from Sambucus nigra L. flowers by using microwave-assisted extn. (MAE) and Soxhlet extn. with aq. EtOH (80%). MAE was more effective technique for the isolation of phenolic acids than the Soxhlet extn. High-performance liq. chromatog. with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used for identification of the phenolic acids.