Method development based on pressurized liquid extraction technique was investigated for the extraction of spicatoside A from Liriope platyphylla. Determination of spicatoside A was carried out by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with charged aerosol detector. Central composite design consisting of 15 experimental points in triplicate was applied to evaluated the effects of three independent variables, namely extraction time (min), extraction temperature (degrees C) and ethanol concentration (%) on the acquired content of spicatoside A. Response surface analysis indicated that the highest predicted content of spicatoside A might be 0.0161% of the optimized extract at extraction time 20 min, extraction temperature 130 degrees C and ethanol concentration 86%. Under this optimal condition, the experimental value was 0.0157%, which agrees with the predicted one by analysis of variance. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.