Synthesis of polyesters by the polyaddition of bis(oxetane)s with active di(ester)s

The polyaddition of bis(oxetane)s 1,4‐bis[(3‐ethyl‐3‐oxetanylmethoxymethyl)]benzene (BEOB), 4,4′‐bis[(3‐ethyl‐3‐oxetanyl)methoxy]benzene (4,4′‐BEOBP), 1,4‐bis[(3‐ethy‐3‐oxetanyl)methoxy] ‐benzene (1,4‐BEOMB), 1,2‐bis[(3‐ethyl‐3‐oxetanyl)methoxy]benzene (1,2‐BEOMB), 4,4‐bis[(3‐ethyl‐3‐oxetanyl)methoxy]biphenyl (4,4′‐BEOMB), 3,3′,5,5′‐tetramethyl‐[4,4′‐bis(3‐ethyl‐3‐oxetanyl)methoxy]biphenyl (TM‐BEOBP) with active diesters di‐s‐phenylthioterephthalate (PTTP), di‐s‐phenylthioisoterephthalate (PTIP), 4,4′‐di(p‐nitrophenyl)terephthalate (NPTP), 4,4′‐di(p‐nitrophenyl)isoterephthalate (NPIP) were carried out in the presence of tetraphenylphosphonium chloride (TPPC) as a catalyst in NMP for 24 h, affording corresponding polyesters with M_n's in the range 2200–18,200 in 41–98% yields. The obtained polymers would soluble in common organic solvents and had high thermal stabilities. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 1528–1536, 2004     

Separation of acetins by counter-current chromatography

In this work we report the purification of a crude acetin mixture into mono‐, di‐ and triacetin by countercurrent chromatography. The process was initially tested on a small, semi‐preparative scale (0.5 g) to determine its efficiency. The process was then scaled up to accommodate 2.5 g of crude reaction products containing a mixture of the acetins. The solvent system ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/water 1:0.2:1 was used in all separation procedures. Mono‐, di‐ and triacetins were separated similarly in the semi‐preparative and preparative runs.     

Application of an efficient strategy based on liquid–liquid extraction,high‐speed counter‐current chromatography,and preparative HPLC for the rapid enrichment,separation, and purification of four anthraquinones from Rheum tanguticum

This study presents an efficient strategy based on liquid–liquid extraction, high‐speed counter‐current chromatography, and preparative HPLC for the rapid enrichment, separation, and purification of four anthraquinones from Rheum tanguticum. A new solvent system composed of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/water (4:2:1, v/v/v) was developed for the liquid–liquid extraction of the crude extract from R. tanguticum. As a result, emodin, aloe‐emodin, physcion, and chrysophanol were greatly enriched in the organic layer. In addition, an efficient method was successfully established to separate and purify the above anthraquinones by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography and preparative HPLC. This study supplies a new alternative method for the rapid enrichment, separation, and purification of emodin, aloe‐emodin, physcione, and chrysophanol.     

Rapid separation of three glucosylated resveratrol analogues from the invasive plant Polygonum cuspidatum by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

Three glucosylated resveratrol analogues (piceid, piceatannol glucoside, resveratroloside) were successfully isolated from the crude MeOH extract of the invasive plant species Polygonum cuspidatum by semi‐preparative high‐speed countercurrent chromatography with a two‐phase solvent system composed of cyclohexane‐ethyl acetate‐methanol‐water (1:5:1:5, v/v/v/v). Piceid (23 mg), resveratroloside (17 mg), piceatannol glucoside (15 mg) of purities over 80% were isolated from 500 mg crude MeOH extract in one step. Subsequent passage over a SPE column was used to quickly bring their purities to over 90%. The purities were determined by HPLC analysis and their structures were elucidated by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H‐NMR), HMBC, ESI‐MS and HR‐MS.     

A simple and efficient protocol for large‐scale preparation of three flavonoids from the flower of Daphne genkwa by combination of macroporous resin and counter‐current chromatography

In this paper, macroporous resin column chromatography and counter‐current chromatography (CCC) were applied for large‐scale preparative separation of three flavonoids from the flower of Daphne genkwa, a famous Chinese medicinal herb. Nine kinds of resins were investigated by adsorption and desorption tests and D101 macroporous resin was selected for the first cleaning‐up, in which 40% aqueous ethanol was used to remove the undesired constituents and 90% aqueous ethanol was used to elute the targets. The crude extract after the first step was directly subjected to the preparative CCC purification using the solvent system composed of n‐hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (4:5:4:5, v/v). The compounds apigemin (823 mg), 3‐hydroxyl‐genkwanin (842 mg) and genkwanin (998 mg) with the purities of 98.79, 97.71 and 93.53%, respectively, determined by HPLC were produced from 3‐g crude extract only in one CCC run. Their chemical structures were identified by MS, UV and the standards.     

Enrichment and isolation of barbigerone from Millettia pachycarpa Benth. using high‐speed counter‐current chromatography and preparative HPLC

Enrichment of the anti‐tumor compound barbigerone along with a rotenoid derivative from Millettia pachycarpa Benth. was performed by a two‐step high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) separation process. In the first step, 155.8 mg of target fraction (Fra6) was obtained from 400 mg ethyl acetate extract of M. pachycarpa Benth. with an increase in barbigerone from 5.1 to 13% via HSCCC using a solvent system of n‐hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (5:4:5:3, v/v) under normal phase head to tail elution. HSCCC was repeated to eliminate the major contaminant in this initial fraction 6. After a separation time of 65 min, 22.1 mg barbigerone of 87.7% purity was obtained from Fra6 with the ternary solvent system of n‐hexane–methanol–water (2:2:1, v/v) under normal phase elution. Finally, preparative HPLC was employed for the further isolation of barbigerone and the rotenoid derivative. The structures were confirmed by ESI‐MS, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR.     

Rapid preparative separation of six bioactive compounds from Gentiana crassicaulis Duthie ex Burk. using microwave‐assisted extraction coupled with high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

A rapid method combining microwave‐assisted extraction (MAE) and high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) was applied for preparative separation of six bioactive compounds including loganic acid ( I ), isoorientin‐4′‐O‐glucoside ( II ), 6′‐O‐β‐d ‐glucopyranosyl gentiopicroside ( III ), swertiamarin ( IV ), gentiopicroside ( V ), sweroside ( VI ) from traditional Tibetan medicine Gentiana crassicaulis Duthie ex Burk. MAE parameters were predicted by central composite design response surface methodology. That is, 5.0 g dried roots of G. crassicaulis were extracted with 50 mL 57.5% aqueous ethanol under 630 W for 3.39 min. The extract (gentian total glycosides) was separated by HSCCC with n‐butanol/ethyl acetate/methanol/1% acetic acid water (7.5:0.5:0.5:3.5, v/v/v/v) using upper phase mobile in tail‐to‐head elution mode. 16.3, 8.8, 12., 25.1, 40.7, and 21.8 mg of compounds I–VI were obtained with high purities in one run from 500 mg of original sample. The purities and identities of separated components were confirmed using HPLC with photo diode array detection and quadrupole TOF‐MS and NMR spectroscopy. The study reveals that response surface methodology is convenient and highly predictive for optimizing extraction process, MAE coupled with HSCCC could be an expeditious method for extraction and separation of phytochemicals from ethnomedicine.     

Substituted 2,2′‐Bis(2‐oxidobenzylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐1,1′‐biphenyl Complexes of Zinc

The condensation reaction of 2,2′‐diamino‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐6,6'‐dibromo‐1,1′‐biphenyl with 2‐hydroxybenzaldehyde as well as 5‐methoxy‐, 4‐methoxy‐, and 3‐methoxy‐2‐hydroxybenzaldehyde yields 2,2′‐bis(salicylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐6,6′‐dibromo‐1,1′‐biphenyl ( 1a ) as well as the 5‐, 4‐, and 3‐methoxy‐substituted derivatives 1b , 1c , and 1d , respectively. Deprotonation of substituted 2,2′‐bis(salicylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐1,1′‐biphenyls with diethylzinc yields the corresponding substituted zinc 2,2′‐bis(2‐oxidobenzylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐1,1′‐biphenyls ( 2 ) or zinc 2,2′‐bis(2‐oxidobenzylideneamino)‐4,4′‐dimethyl‐6,6′‐dibromo‐1,1′‐biphenyls ( 3 ). Recrystallization from a mixture of CH₂Cl₂ and methanol can lead to the formation of methanol adducts. The methanol ligands can either bind as Lewis base to the central zinc atom or as Lewis acid via a weak O–H ··· O hydrogen bridge to a phenoxide moiety. Methanol‐free complexes precipitate as dimers with central Zn₂O₂ rings.     

Isolation and purification of macrocyclic components from Penicillium fermentation broth by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

In this paper, high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC), assisted with ESI‐MS, was first successfully applied to the preparative separation of three macrolide antibiotics, brefeldin A (12.6 mg, 99.0%), 7′‐O‐formylbrefeldin A (6.5 mg, 95.0%) and 7′‐O‐acetylbrefeldin A (5.0 mg, 92.3%) from the crude extract of the microbe Penicillium SHZK‐15. Considering the chemical nature and partition coefficient (K) values of the three target compounds, a two‐step HSCCC isolation protocol was developed in order to obtain products with high purity. In the two‐step method, the crude ethyl acetate extract was first fractionated and resulted in two peak fractions by HSCCC using solvent system n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (HEMWat) (3:7:5:5 v/v/v/v), then purified using solvent systems HEMWat (3:5:3:5 v/v/v/v) and HEMWat (7:3:5:5 v/v/v/v) for each fraction. The purities and structures of the isolated compounds were determined by HPLC, X‐ray crystallography, ESI‐MS and NMR. The results demonstrated that HSCCC is a fast and efficient technique for systematic isolation of bioactive compounds from the microbes.     

Separation and purification of 9,10‐dihydrophenanthrenes and bibenzyls from Pholidota chinensis by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

Stilbenoids are the main components of leaves and stems of Pholidota chinensis. In the present investigation, high‐speed counter‐current chromatography was used for the separation and purification of two classes of stilbenoids, namely, bibenzyls and 9,10‐dihydrophenanthrenes, on a preparative scale from whole plants of P. chinensis with different solvent systems after silica gel column chromatography fractionation. n‐Hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1.2:1:1:0.8, v/v/v/v) was selected as the optimum solvent system to purify 1‐(3,4,5‐trimethoxyphenyl)‐1′,2′‐ethanediol ( 1 ), coelonin ( 2 ), 3,4′‐dihydroxy‐5,5′‐dimethoxybibenzyl ( 3 ), and 2,?7‐?dihydroxy‐?3,?4,?6‐?trimethoxy‐?9,?10‐?dihydrophenanthrene ( 4 ). While 2,7‐dihydroxy‐3,4,6‐trimethoxy‐?9,?10‐?dihydrophenanthrene ( 5 ), batatasin III ( 6 ), orchinol ( 7 ), and 3′‐O‐methylbatatasin III ( 8 ) were purified by n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1.6:0.8:1.2:0.4, v/v/v/v). After the high‐speed counter‐current chromatography isolation procedure, the purity of all compounds was over 94% assayed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography. The chemical structure identification of all compounds was carried out by mass spectrometry and ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. To the best of our knowledge, the current investigation is the first study for the separation and purification of bibenzyls and 9,10‐dihydrophenanthrenes by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography from natural resources.     

Separation of nine compounds from Salvia plebeia R.Br. using two‐step high‐speed counter‐current chromatography with different elution modes

Nine compounds were successfully separated from Salvia plebeia R.Br. using two‐step high‐speed counter‐current chromatography with three elution modes. Elution–extrusion counter‐current chromatography was applied in the first step, while classical counter‐current chromatography and recycling counter‐current chromatography were used in the second step. Three solvent systems, n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/ethanol/water (4:6.5:3:7, v/v), methyl tert‐butyl ether/ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/methanol/water (6:4:1:2:8, v/v) and n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (5:5.5:5:5, v/v) were screened and optimized for the two‐step separation. The separation yielded nine compounds, including caffeic acid ( 1 ), 6‐hydroxyluteuolin‐7‐glucoside ( 2 ), 5,7,3′,4′‐tetrahydroxy‐6‐methoxyflavanone‐7‐glucoside ( 3 ), nepitrin ( 4 ), rosmarinic acid ( 5 ), homoplantaginin ( 6 ), nepetin ( 7 ), hispidulin ( 8 ), and 5,6,7,4′‐tertrahydroxyflavone ( 9 ). To the best of our knowledge, 5,7,3′,4′‐tetrahydroxy‐6‐methoxyflavanone‐7‐glucoside and 5,6,7,4′‐tertrahydroxyflavone have been separated from Salvia plebeia R.Br. for the first time. The purities and structures of these compounds were identified by high‐performance liquid chromatography, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. This study demonstrates that high‐speed counter‐current chromatography is a useful and flexible tool for the separation of components from a complex sample.     

A rapid and convenient method for preparative separation of three indissolvable polyphenols from Euphorbia pekinensis by the flexible application of solvent extraction combined with counter‐current chromatography

A rapid and convenient method was established to preparatively isolate the three ellagic acid types of compounds, which were the main polyphenols in Euphorbia pekinensis, by flexibly applying solvent extraction combined with counter‐current chromatography (CCC). The total extract (extracted using 95% ethanol) of E. pekinensis was pretreated by two simple steps before CCC isolation, following the procedure: the total extract was extracted by classical solvent extraction using petroleum ether and ethyl acetate, respectively, and then the ethyl acetate extract was suspended using 95% ethanol, after being allowed to stand overnight, the sediment was obtained. Partial sediment (100 mg) was then directly separated by CCC with a two‐phase solvent system composed of chloroform‐95% ethanol‐water‐85% formic acid (50:50:50:5, v/v/v/v). About 22 mg of 3,3′‐dimethoxy ellagic acid (1), 12 mg of 3,3′‐di‐O‐methyl‐4‐O‐(β‐d ‐xylopyranosyl)ellagic acid (2), and 35 mg of ellagic acid (3) with purities of 96.0, 95.2, and 95.4% were obtained respectively in one step within 4 h. After being purified by washing with methanol, the purities of the three compounds obtained were all above 98%. The purities were determined by HPLC and their chemical structures were further identified by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The recoveries were calculated as 84.6, 85.7, and 89.5%, respectively. The result demonstrated that the present isolation method was rapid, economical and efficient for the preparative separation of polyphenols from E. pekinensis.     

Separation and purification of four compounds from Desmodium styracifolium using off‐line two‐dimensional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

An off‐line 2D high‐speed counter‐current chromatography technique in preparative scale has been successfully applied to separate and purify the main compounds from the ethyl acetate extract of Desmodium styracifolium. A two‐phase solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water at an optimized volume ratio of 1:2:1:2 v/v/v/v was used. Conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography was used as the first dimension, and the upper phase of the solvent system was used as the stationary phase in the head‐to‐tail elution mode at a flow rate of 2.0 mL/min and a rotation speed of 900 rpm. Recycling high‐speed counter‐current chromatography served as the second dimension to separate an impure fraction of the first dimension. A total of four well‐separated substances including vanillic acid ( 1 ), β‐sitosterol ( 2 ), formononetin ( 3 ), and aromadendrin ( 4 ) were obtained, and their purities and structures were identified by HPLC–MS and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The results illustrated that off‐line 2D high‐speed counter‐current chromatography is an effective way to isolate compounds in complex samples.     

A fast,sensitive, and high‐throughput method for the simultaneous quantitation of three ellagitannins from Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix in rat plasma by ultra‐HPLC–MS/MS

A fast, sensitive, and high‐throughput ultra‐HPLC–MS/MS method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of three main active constituents of Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix in rat plasma. After addition of the internal standard, plasma samples were extracted by liquid–liquid extraction with ethyl acetate/isopropanol (1:1, v/v) and separated on a CAPCELL PAK C₁₈ column (100 × 2.0 mm, 2 μm, Shiseido, Japan), using a gradient mobile phase system of methanol/water. The detection of the analytes was performed on a 4000Q UHPLC–MS/MS system with turbo ion spray source in the negative ion and multiple reaction‐monitoring mode. The linear range was 1.0–1000 ng/mL for 3,3′‐di‐O‐methyl ellagic acid‐4′‐O‐β‐d ‐glucopyranoside (i), 1.5–1500 ng/mL for 3,3′‐di‐O‐methyl ellagic acid‐4′‐O‐β‐d ‐xylopyranoside (ii), and 5.0–5000 ng/mL for 3,3′‐di‐O‐methyl ellagic acid (iii). The intra‐ and interday precision and accuracy of all the analytes were within 15%. The extraction recoveries of the three analytes and internal standard from plasma were all more than 80%. The validated method was first successfully applied to the evaluation of pharmacokinetic parameters of compounds 1 , 2 , and 3 in rat plasma after intragastric administration of the Euphorbiae pekinensis Radix extract.     

Combination of preparative HPLC and HSCCC methods to separate phosphodiesterase inhibitors from Eucommia ulmoides bark guided by ultrafiltration-based ligand screening

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors are widely used because of their various pharmacological properties, and natural products are considered the most productive source of PDE inhibitors. In this work, a new ultrafiltration–high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)–diode-array detection–mass spectrometry based ligand screening was developed for the first screening of PDE inhibitors from Eucommia ulmoides bark, and then the target bioactive compounds were prepared by combination of stepwise preparative HPLC and high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) methods. Experiments were conducted to optimize the parameters in ultrafiltration, stepwise preparative HPLC, and HSCCC to allow rapid and effective screening and isolation of active compounds from complex mixtures. Seven lignans with purity over 97 % were isolated and identified by their UV, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and NMR data as (+)-pinoresinol-4,4′-di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), (+)-pinoresinol-4-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl(1?→?6)-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), (+)-medioresinol-4,4′-di-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (3), (+)-syringaresinol-4,4′-di-O- β-D-glucopyranoside (4), (?)-olivil-4′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (5), (?)-olivil-4-O-β-D- glucopyranoside (6), and (+)-pinoresinol-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (7). Compound 2 was first isolated from the genus Eucommia. Lignan diglucopyranosides (compounds 1–4) shower a greater inhibitory effect than lignan monoglucopyranosides (compounds 5–7). The method developed could be widely applied for high-throughput screening and preparative isolation of PDE inhibitors from natural products.     

Preparative isolation and purification of antioxidative stilbene oligomers from Vitis chunganeniss using high‐speed counter‐current chromatography in stepwise elution mode

Preparative high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully applied to the isolation and purification of three stilbene oligomers from Vitis chunganeniss using stepwise elution with a pair of two‐phase solvent systems composed of n‐hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water at (2:5:2:5, v/v) and (1:2:1:2, v/v). The preparative HSCCC separation was performed on 800 mg of crude sample yielding hopeaphenol (21.1 mg), amurensin G (37.2 mg) and vitisin A (95.6 mg) in a one‐step separation, with purities over 95% as determined by HPLC. The structures of these three compounds were identified by MS, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR. In addition, their antioxidant activities were screened by DPPH assay, where vitisin A showed strong antioxidant activity. Further EPR experiments with spin‐trapping technique demonstrated that vitisin A is a potent and selective singlet oxygen quencher, which may be used in singlet oxygen‐mediated diseases as a pharmacological agent.     

Preparative isolation of flavonoid compounds from Oroxylum indicum by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography by using ionic liquids as the modifier of two‐phase solvent system

A preparative high‐speed counter‐current chromatography method for isolation and purification of flavonoid compounds from Oroxylum indicum was successfully established by using ionic liquids as the modifier of the two‐phase solvent system. Two flavonoid compounds including baicalein‐7‐O‐diglucoside and baicalein‐7‐O‐glucoside were purified from the crude extract of O. indicum by using ethyl acetate–water–[C₄mim][PF₆] (5:5:0.2, v/v) as two‐phase solvent system. 36.4 mg of baicalein‐7‐O‐diglucoside and 60.5 mg of baicalein‐7‐O‐glucoside were obtained from 120 mg of the crude extract. Their purities were 98.7 and 99.1%, respectively, as determined by HPLC area normalization method. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were identified by ¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR.     

Novel Non‐Coplanar and Tertbutyl‐Substituted Polyimides: Solubility,Optical, Thermal and Dielectric Properties

A novel aromatic diamine monomer bearing tertbutyl and 4‐tertbutylphenyl groups, 3,3′‐ditertbutyl‐4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl‐4′′‐tertbutylphenylmethane (TADBP), was prepared and characterized. A series of non‐coplanar polyimides (PIs) were synthesized via a conventional one‐step polycondensation from TADBP and various aromatic dianhydrides including pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA), 4,4′‐oxydiphthalic anhydride (OPDA), 3,3′,4,4′‐benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)dipthalic anhydride (6FDA). All PIs exhibit excellent solubility in common organic solvents such as N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N‐dimethylacetamide (DMAc), N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone (NMP), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), chloroform (CHCl₃), tetrahydrofuran (THF), and so on. Furthermore, the obtained transparent, strong and flexible polyimide films present good thermal stability and outstanding optical properties. Their glass transition temperatures (T_gs) are in the range of 298 to 347°C, and 10% weight loss temperatures are in excess of 490°C with more than 53% char yield at 800°C in nitrogen. All the polyimides can be cast into transparent and flexible films with tensile strength of 80.5–101 MPa, elongation at break of 8.4%–10.5%, and Young's modulus of 2.3–2.8 GPa. Meanwhile, the PIs show the cutoff wavelengths of 302–356 nm, as well as low moisture absorption (0.30% –0.55%) and low dielectric constant (2.78–3.12 at 1 MHz).     

Effect of inorganic salt on partition of high‐polarity parishins in two‐phase solvent systems and separation by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography from Gastrodia elata Blume

Parishins are high‐polarity and major bioactive constituents in Gastrodia elata Blume. In this study, the effect of several inorganic salts on the partition of parishins in two‐phase solvent systems was investigated. Adding ammonium sulfate, which has a higher solubility in water, was found to significantly promote the partition of parishins in the upper organic polar solvents. Based on the results, a two‐phase solvent system composed of butyl alcohol/acetonitrile/near‐saturated ammonium sulfate solution/water (1.5:0.5:1.2:1, v/v/v/v) was used for the purification of parishins by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography. Fractions obtained from high‐speed counter‐current chromatography were subjected to semi‐preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography to remove salt and impurities. As a result, parishin E (6.0 mg), parishin B (7.8 mg), parishin C (3.2 mg), gastrodin (15.3 mg), and parishin A (7.3 mg) were isolated from water extract of Gastrodia elata Blume (400 mg). These results demonstrated that adding inorganic salt that has high solubility in water to the two‐phase solvent system in high‐speed counter‐current chromatography was a suitable approach for the purification of high‐polarity compounds.     

Multicomponent quantitative analysis combined with antioxidant and alpha‐glucosidase inhibitory activities for the quality evaluation of Gastrodia elata from different regions

Gastrodia elata (G. elata), as a natural plant with nourishing and edible value, plays a vital role in food and pharmaceutical production. In the present study, a novel approach for the simultaneous determination of six components based on high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with photodiode array detection (PDA) was developed for the quality evaluation of G. elata from different regions. Meanwhile, antioxidant and α‐glucosidase inhibitory activities were estimated and compared. The results indicated that the total contents of the six compounds in G. elata from Guizhou and Zhejiang provinces obtained by boiling were higher than those obtained by steaming in Anhui and Yunnan provinces. In addition, samples from Guizhou, Yunnan and Shanxi provinces contained more p‐hydroxybenzyl alcohol, and always possessed higher antioxidant activity, while samples collected from Anhui province showed the highest α‐glucosidase inhibitory activity with the highest gastrodin content. The results revealed that the quality of G. elata was affected by different regions and different initial processing technologies, which provided a reference for the selection and application of G. elata.