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• A single method was developed for the extraction and purification of aleuritic acid from seedlac. • Microwave treatments enabled the complete hydrolysis of lac resin in < 30 min. • Removal of impurities before acid treatment of sodium aleuritate is crucial for the production of pure aleuritic acid. • The developed process produces aleuritic acid ten times faster and with>40 % higher yield with a purity of >98 %. Aleuritic acid is one of the high-value constituents of lac resin, which has a massive demand in the perfumery industry for synthesizing macrocyclic lactones. The commercial aleuritic acid extraction process is lengthy, inefficient, and produces low-quality aleuritic acid, which necessitates repeated purification using toxic chemicals, bleaching agents, organic solvents, and activated carbon to obtain the desired quality aleuritic acid. This study developed a single process for extraction and purification of aleuritic acid involving microwave-assisted hydrolyzing of the seed lac and removing impurities of lac resin through condensation and alkali heat treatment. The novel process has reduced the overall extraction time from 15 days to 1.5–2 days and increases the yield from 35 to 40 % to 85–86 % and purity from 70 to 86 % to > 98 % in a single process without the use of toxic chemicals, bleaching agents, or organic solvents, unlike the commercially available process. HPLC, FT-IR, DSC, and FESEM techniques were employed to characterize and evaluate the quality of the extracted aleuritic acid. The developed process is highly efficient and cost-effective and offers scalable and fast extraction while requiring minimal chemicals, labor, and energy compared to alternative processes. Moreover, it exhibits greater environmental sustainability. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]