Isolation and Purification of Two Constitutes from Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook by High-Speed Counter-current Chromatography Using Stepwise Elution

Abstract

Preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully used for the isolation and purification of 2-hydroxyethyl caffeate and denhydroshizukanolide from Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook using stepwise elution with a pair of two-phase solvent systems composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water at (1:1:1:1, v/v) and (3:1:3:1, v/v). Using a preparative unit of the HSCCC centrifuge, about a 100 mg amount of the sample was separated, yielding 13.3 mg of 2-hydroxyethyl caffeate and 18.0 mg of denhydroshizukanolide at a high purity of over 95%. The peak fraction of HSCCC was identified by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR.     

Isolation and Purification of Isoquercitrin and Quercitrin from sf Hypericum Japonicum Thunb.ex Murray by Counter-Current Chromatography

Isoquercitrin and quercitrin were successfully isolated and purified from Hypericum japonicum Thunb.ex Murray by counter-current chromatography with a solvent system of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:7:1:7, v/v/v/v) in one step. From 100 mg of the extract of Hypericum japonicum Thunb.ex Murray, 9.8 mg of isoquercitrin and 12 mg of quercitrin were obtained with the purities of 95.9% and 99.1%, respectively, as determined by HPLC. Their structures were identified by UV, MS, and NMR analysis. In this study, a rapid method for isolation and purification of the two major compounds from Hypericum japonicum Thunb.ex Murray crude extract was established.     

Rapid Detection of Antioxidant Flavonoids in Azalea (Rhododendron mucronulatum) Flowers using On-line HPLC-ABTS+ System and Preparative Isolation of Three Flavonoids by Centrifugal Partition Chromatography

High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to an on-line ABTS⁺-based assay (on-line HPLC-ABTS⁺) system was used to determine the principle antioxidants in azalea flowers. Three flavonoids, myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol, recovered in ethyl acetate extracts of azalea flowers were determined to have antioxidant activities. These three flavonoids were isolated and purified by successive centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) using two different biphasic solvent systems, consisting of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (3:5:3:5 or 4:5:4:5, v/v). A total of 46.2 mg of myricetin, 28.9 mg of quercetin, and 10.6 mg of kaempferol with purities of 97.0%, 95.4%, and 93.9%, respectively, were purified from 500 mg of ethyl acetate soluble material from azalea flowers. The structures were identified by their retention time, UV spectra, and ESI-MS in the positive ion mode and were confirmed by NMR experiments.     

Separation of Four Compounds from Forsythia suspensa by Counter-Current Chromatography with Stepwise Elution

High speed counter-current chromatography technique in preparative scale has been successfully applied to separate and purify main compounds from the ethyl acetate extract of Forsythia suspense using stepwise elution with two-phase solvent systems composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water at (1:4:1:4,v/v) and (1:4:2:3,v/v). Under the optimized conditions, the preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography was performed on 350 mg of the ethyl acetate yielding phillyrin (12.8 mg), isolariciresinol-9’-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5.3 mg), pinoresinol (21.2 mg), and phillygenin (8.3 mg) in a one-step separation, with purities over 90% as determined by HPLC. The structures of the separated compounds were identified by HPLC-MS and ¹H NMR.     

Separation and Purification of Arctiin,Arctigenin, Matairesinol,and Lappaol F from Fructus Arctii by High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography

Arctiin (I), arctigenin (II), matairesinol (III), and lappaol F (IV) were isolated and purified from the traditional Chinese medicine Fructus Arctii by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The crude extracts from Fructus Arctii were treated with D101 macroporous resin first and divided into two parts: fraction 1 and fraction 2. Fraction 1 was separated by ethyl acetate-n-butanol-water (4:0.5:5, v/v/v) and yielded 164 mg of I from 250 mg of fraction 1. Fraction 2 was separated by n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (2:3:2:3, v/v/v/v) and yielded 27 mg of II, 5 mg of III, and 3 mg of IV from 150 mg of fraction 2. The purities of the four compounds were 99.64%, 98.48%, 96.16%, and 91.41%, respectively, as determined by HPLC-DAD. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were identified by MS, UV, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR analysis.     

Separation and Purification of α-Cyperone from Cyperus rotundus with Supercritical Fluid Extraction and High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography

Abstract

α-Cyperone was separated and purified for the first time from essential oil of the traditional Chinese medicinal plant Cyperus rotundus L. by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). Essential oil was obtained by extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide under the pressure of 20 MPa and temperature of 40°C. The separation was performed in one step with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:0.2:1.1:0.2, v/v), in which the lower phase was used as the mobile phase at a flow-rate of 2.0 ml/min in the head-to-tail elution mode. A total of 60 mg α-cyperone at 98.8% purity was yielded from 0.9 g essential oil as determined by HPLC analysis. The structure of the target compound was performed by electron impact ionization mass spectrometry (EI-MS) and further conformed by comparison with an authentic sample (National Institute of the Control of Pharmaceutical and Biological Products, Beijing, China).     

One Step Large-Scale Separation and Purification of Rutin from Boenninghausenia sessilicarpa by Countercurrent Chromatography

In this study, a preparative countercurrent chromatography (CCC) method for isolation and purification of the bioactive component rutin directly from the ethanol extract of Boenninghausenia sessilicarpa was successfully established by using n-butanol-ethyl acetate-water as the two-phase solvent system. The upper phase of n-butanol-ethyl acetate-water (4:1:5, v/v) was used as the stationary phase of CCC. Under the optimum conditions, 112 mg of rutin at 98.6% purity was obtained from 2.0 g of the crude extract in a single CCC separation. The peak fraction of CCC was identified by negative ESI, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR.     

Separation and Preparation of Five Cyclopamine Analogs from Rhizomes of Veratrum oxysepalum Turcz. by Two-Step High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography

Five cyclopamine analogs including jervine, veratramine, pseudojervine, veratrosine, and verdine were isolated from the rhizomes of Veratrum oxysepalum Turcz. by an efficient two-step high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) method. In the filrst step, HSCCC, dichloromethane-methanol-water (4:3.5:2, v/v/v) was employed to obtain 24.5 mg of jervine, 18.2 mg of veratramine, 9.4 mg of pseudojervine, 20.8 mg of veratrosine, and 5.2 mg of verdine from 200.0 mg of crude alkaloid extracts, with the purities of 65.7, 97.5, 95.2, 98.3, and 98.1%, respectively. After the filrst HSCCC run, the jervine-fraction was subjected to the second step HSCCC using n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (4:5:4:5, v/v/v/v) system for further purification and 12.7 mg of jervine with 95.8% purity was obtained. The structures of isolates were identified by liquid chromatography-quadruple time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF MS/MS), ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.     

Separation and purification of four tannins from Potentilla parvifolia Fisch. (Rosaceae) using high-speed counter-current chromatography

Four tannins were isolated and identified from Potentilla parvifolia using high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) in this study. A two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:11:1.2:11, v/v/v/v) was chosen and yielded 18.8 mg of procyanidin B3, 9.8 mg of procyanidin B6, 9.1 mg of procyanidin B7, and 6.9 mg of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-galloyl-D-glucose, all at over 95% purity, from 120 mg of the crude sample powder. The identifications were performed with ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR. This is the first report showing the presence of procyanidin B7 and 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-galloyl-D-glucose in the genus Potentilla, and procyanidin B3 and procyanidin B6 were isolated from P. parvifolia for the first time.     

Application of High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography Preparative Separation of Flavone C-Glycosides From Lophatherum gracile

Preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was used to separate and purify bioactive constituents from the stems and leaves of Lophatherum gracile Brongn. Six flavone C-glycosides each at over 95% purity including two new compounds were obtained in one-step separation by HSCCC with an optimized two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-ethanol-water at volume ratio of 4:2:1.5:8.5 (v/v/v/v). The experiment yielded 19.9 mg of luteolin 6-C-β-D-galactopyranosiduronic acid (1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), 28.5 mg of luteolin 6-C-α-L-arabinopyranosyl-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), 31.5 mg of isoorientin (3), 44.8 mg of orientin (4), 25.3 mg of swertiajaponin (5) and 12.1 mg of apigenin 6-C-β-D-galactopyranosiduronic acid (1→2)-β-D-glucopyranoside (6) from 500 mg of crude extracts. The purity of these compounds was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Their chemical structures were identified by electron spray ionization mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS), ¹H and ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).     

Separation and Purification of Bioactive Flavonol Glycosides from Hedyotis diffusa Willd by High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography

Three flavonoid glycosides including quercetin-3-O-[2″-O-(6″′-O-E-sinapoyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-β-D-glucopyranoside(I), quercetin-3-O-[2″-O-(6″′-O-E-feruloyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-β-D-glucopyranoside(II) and quercetin-3-O-[2″-O-(6″′-O-E-feruloyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl]-β-D-galactopyranoside(III) were isolated and purified from Hedyotis diffusa Willd by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). This run was carried out with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane–ethyl acetate–n-butanol–methanol–1.0% acetic acid (1:1:3.5:1:4.5, v/v) by eluting the lower phase as the mobile phase with a flow-rate at 2.0 ml/min. Consequently, 29.6 mg of I, 35.1 mg of II, 41.3 mg of III with purities of over 95% were obtained from 200 mg of the crude extracts in a single run in less than 130 min. The structure of the isolated compounds was confirmed by MS, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR analysis.     

Preparative Isolation of Bioenhancer Loganetin from sf Alstonia scholaris by Fast Centrifugal Partition Chromatography

Fast centrifugal partition chromatography (FCPC) was successfully applied in the separation of close R f complex bioactive iridoid, loganetin directly from the ethyl acetate extract of Alstonia scholaris . The experiment was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of methyl tert- butyl ether (MtBE)/ACN/Water (3:1.5:3 v/v/v) where the lower phase of the biphasic system, the aqueous layer containing 8 mM HCl, was the stationary phase, while the upper organic layer supplemented with 15 mM triethylamine TEA was designated as the mobile phase. From 1.5 g of EtOAc extract, 48 mg of loganetin (1) was obtained in 94.4% purity as determined by HPLC. The isolated compound (1) was characterized on the basis of its ¹ H, ¹³ C–NMR, and ESI-MS spectroscopic data. Although loganetin does not possess antibacterial activity of its own, but in combination, it appreciably reduces the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of nalidixic acid (NA) against nalidixic acid resistant (NAREC) and nalidixic acid sensitive (NASEC) strains of Escherichia coli . Loganetin, a very common, inexpensive, and non-toxic natural product may finds its application in the antibacterial drug development for treating multidrug-resistant Gram negative infections.     

Isolation and Purification of Kaempferol-3,7-O-α-L-Dirhamnopyranoside from Siraitia grosvenori Leaves by High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatograph and Its Free Radical Scavenging Activity

Semi-preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully used for the isolation and purification of flavonoid glycoside from the leaves of Siraitia grosvenori by using a two-phase-solvent system composed of ethyl acetate–n-butanol–water (4:1:5, v/v/v). kaempferol-3,7-O-α-L-dirhamnopyranoside was obtained in one-step separation and less than 5.5 h from 90 mg of crude extract from the S. grosvenori leaves. The chemical structure of this compound was identified by MS, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR. Free radical scavenging activity of kaempferol-3,7-O-α-L-dirhamnopyranoside was also evaluated and the results showed that it had good free radical scavenging activity with its IC₅₀ value being 3.97 mg/ml.     

Enrichment and Separation of Sinomenine and Acutumine from Sinomenium acutum by pH-Zone-Refining Counter-Current Chromatography

Enrichment and separation of alkaloids from a chloroform extract of Sinomenium acutum has been successfully performed for the first time using pH-zone-refining counter-current chromatography. The two-phase solvent system used for enrichment was composed of Methyl tert-butyl ether (MtBE)–acetonitrile (CH₃CN)–water (4:1:5, v/v), where 10 mM triethylamine (TEA) was added to the upper organic stationary phase as a retainer and 10 mM hydrochloric acid (HCl) to the aqueous mobile phase as an eluter, which could enrich the alkaloids from the crude extract well. For the preparative separation, the solvent system consisted of MtBE–CH₃CN–water (4:0.5:5, v/v) with 10 mM TEA in organic stationary phase and 5 mM HCl in the aqueous mobile phase, which could separate and purify the enriched crude alkaloids successfully. 0.82 g of crude alkaloids was enriched from 1.60 g of chloroform extract in the first step separation. From the enriched crude alkaloids, 376 mg of sinomenine and 85 mg of acutumine were obtained in the second step separation with the purity of 98.1% and 98.7%, respectively. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were identified by UV, ESI-MS and ¹H NMR.     

Separation and Purification of Two Isomeric Saponins from Albiziae Cortex by High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography and Preparative High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Following constituents’ enrichment steps with the AB-8 macroporous resin, silica gel, and ODS columns, high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) and preparative HPLC were successfully used for the isolation and purification of two complex isomeric saponins including a new one from albiziae cortex. The two-phase solvent system used for separation was composed of n -hexane/ n -butanol/water (1:10:5, v/v/v ). A total of 8.2 mg julibroside J _{5 a} and 11.6 mg julibroside J ₅ with purity of higher than 98%, respectively, as determined by HPLC-ELSD were obtained from the constituents enriched fraction (475.4 mg) of albiziae cortex. Their structures were identified by HR-MS, ¹ H NMR ¹³ C NMR, and 2D NMR. This is the first ever report on the separation of complex isomeric saponins from albiziae cortex by HSCCC.     

Preparative Isolation of Bioactive Nitrile Glycoside “Niazirin” from the Fruits of Moringa oleifera Using Fast Centrifugal Partition Chromatography

Fast centrifugal partition chromatography was successfully applied in the separation of bioactive constituent niazirin directly from the chloroform extract of Moringa oleifera. The experiment was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate/BuOH/water (6:0.5:4 v/v/v) in which the upper organic layer was used as stationary phase and lower aqueous phase was used as mobile phase. From 1 g of crude extract, 70 mg of niazirin was obtained in 94.8% purity as determined by HPLC. The total yield recovery was >94%. The isolated nitrile glycoside (niazirin) was characterized on the basis of its ¹H, ¹³C-NMR and ESI-MS data.     

Effective and Preparative Separation of Bioactive Flavonoids From Gynostemma Pentaphyllum Tea Using Elution-Extrusion Counter-Current Chromatography

Elution-extrusion counter-current chromatography (EECCC) was successfully applied for screen and separation of four flavonoids from Gynostemma pentaphyllum tea, a popular herbal tea extract in China. With the hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water 5/6/5/6 (v/v) system, 300 mg of G. pentaphyllum tea extract were fractionated on a 180 mL-capacity preparative hydrodynamic CCC column. Satisfactory separation efficiency was achieved, producing milligram-amounts of quercetin, isorhamnetin, and cirsiliol over 90% pure in one EECCC process. Due to the hydrophilic property, the major flavonoid glycoside, rutin, was co-eluted with the solvent front as a mixture. Therefore, another carefully selected biphasic liquid system composed of ethyl acetate/n-butanol/water (4/1/5, v/v) was employed, yielding 35 mg of rutin with 97.1% purity. Structures of all separated compounds were identified by ESI-MS, ¹H NMR, and ¹³C NMR.     

Separation and Purification of Quinolone Alkaloids from the Chinese Herbal Medicine Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth by High Performance Counter-Current Chromatography

Preparative separation of quinolone alkaloids in Evodia rutaecarpa (Juss.) Benth was conducted by high performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC) with a pair of two solvent systems consisting of n-hexane-methanol-water-acetic acid (2:1:1:0.2, v/v) and (5:4:2:0.1, v/v). Consequently, 31.78 mg 1-methyl-2-nonyl-4 (1H)-quinolone (I), 59.25 mg 1-methyl-2-(6-undecenyl)-4 (1H)-quinolone (II), 333.27 mg evocarpine (III), 101.13 mg 1-methyl-2-(6,9-pentadecadienyl)-4(1H)-quinolone (IV), 132.17 mg dihydroevocarpine (V), and 86.99 mg 1-methyl-2-(10-pentadecenyl)-4(1H)-quinolone (VI) were obtained from 1.3 g of the crude extract. The structures of these compounds were identified by mass spectrometer (MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR).     

Using High-Performance Counter-Current Chromatography Combined with Preparative High Performance Liquid Chromatogramphy for the Separation of Bioactive Compounds from the Water Extract of Gentiana macrophylla Pall

In this paper, a combined high performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC) and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was employed for rapid separation and enrichment of bioactive constituents from a water extract of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. With a two phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-water-acetic acid (2: 3: 5: 0.6, v/v), the water extract of G. macrophylla Pall was fractionated into six fractions with three targets isolated and four others highly concentrated, which were then further purified by preparative-HPLC. As a result, 37 mg deglucoserrulatoside, 22.4 mg loganic acid, 3.9 mg isoorientin, 22.4 mg swertiamarin, 52.3 mg gentiopicroside, 27.5 mg sweroside, and 7.9 mg macrophylloside D with the purity of 95.3%, 90.2%, 98%, 98%, 99.2%, 98.8%, and 98.4%, respectively, were isolated from the water extract of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. The structures were confirmed by UV spectra, MS, as well as NMR measurements.     

Separation and Purification of Rosmarinic Acid and Rutin from Glechoma hederacea L. using High-Speed Counter-Current Chromatography

Rosmarinic acid and rutin were successfully separated from Glechoma hederaceaL. using high-speed counter-current chromatography for the first time. Eleven milligrams of rosmarinic acid (chromatographic purity 97.2 %) and 10 mg of rutin (chromatographic purity 98.1 %) were obtained from 100 mg ethyl acetate extract and 100 mg n -butanol extract of Glechoma hederacea L., respectively, with the separation procedure less than 2 h. Their structures were characterized by UV, MS, and NMR. The established methods were simple, fast, and convenient, which can be applied to the preparation of reference substances of rosmarinic acid and rutin.