Separation of scutellarin from crude extracts of Erigeron breviscapus (vant.) Hand. Mazz. by macroporous resins

Separation and purification of two flavone glucuronides from Erigeron multiradiatus (Lindl.) Benth with macroporous resins

Scutellarein-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide (SG) and apigenin-7-O-beta-D-glucuronide (AG) are two major bioactive constituents with known pharmacological effects in Erigeron multiradiatus. In this study, a simple method for preparative separation of the two flavone glucuronides was established with macroporous resins. The performance and adsorption characteristics of eight macroporous resins including AB-8, HPD100, HPD450, HPD600, D100, D101, D141, and D160 have been evaluated. The results confirmed that D141 resin offered the best adsorption and desorption capacities and the highest desorption ratio for the two glucuronides among the tested resins. Sorption isotherms were constructed for D141 resin under optimal ethanol conditions and fitted well to the Freundlich and Langmuir models (R(2) > 0.95). Dynamic adsorption and desorption tests was performed on column packed with D141 resin. After one-run treatment with D141 resin, the two-constituent content in the final product was increased from 2.14% and 1.34% in the crude extract of Erigeron multiradiatus to 24.63% and 18.42% in the final products with the recoveries of 82.5% and 85.4%, respectively. The preparative separation of SG and AG can be easily and effectively achieved via adsorption and desorption on D141 resin, and the method developed can be referenced for large-scale separation and purification of flavone glucuronides from herbal raw materials.

Traditional Chinese medicine and separation science

Traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) are getting more and more popular nowadays in the whole world for improving health condition of human beings as well as preventing and healing diseases. TCM is a multi-component system with components mostly unknown, and only a few compounds are responsible for the pharmaceutical and/or toxic effects. The large numbers of other components in the TCM make the screening and analysis of the bioactive components extremely difficult. So, separation and analysis of the desired chemical components in TCM are very important subjects for modernization research of TCM. Thus, many novel separation techniques with significant advantages over conventional methods were introduced and applied to separation and analysis of the chemical constituents in TCM. This review presents just a brief outline of the applications of different separation methods for the isolation and analysis of TCM constituents.