Combined application of chromatographic techniques for the separation of phenolic compounds from Stenoloma chusanum Ching

High‐speed countercurrent chromatography combined with preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography was successfully used to separate seven phenolic compounds from Stenoloma chusanum Ching. A biphasic solvent system composed of hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:2:1:2, v/v) was used for the first step high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation in elution–extrusion mode. A mobile phase composed of acetonitrile (18%) and pure water (82%) was used for further preparative high‐performance liquid chromatography purification. In total, the combined separation yielded seven compounds, including 3,4‐dihydroxy benzoic acid, 3,4‐dihydroxy benzaldehyde, esculetin, caffeic acid, syringic acid, luteolin, and apigenin, at a purity of over 90%. Esculetin was separated from Stenoloma chusanum Ching for the first time. The results suggest that the proposed combination method is a useful strategy for separating compounds from complex samples.     

Extraction and purification of five terpenoids from olibanum by ultrahigh pressure technique and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

Five terpenoids, including two new ones, 3,7‐dioxo‐tirucalla‐8,24‐dien‐21‐oic acid ( 2 ) and 3α‐acetoxyl‐7‐oxo‐tirucalla‐8,24‐dien‐21‐oic acid ( 3 ), and three known ones, boscartol A ( 1 ), 11‐keto‐β‐boswellic acid ( 4 ), and acetyl‐11‐keto‐boswellic acid ( 5 ), have been extracted by the ultrapressure extraction and purified by pH‐zone‐refining countercurrent chromatography and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography from olibanum. For ultrapressure extraction, the optimal condition including 200 MPa of extraction pressure, ethyl acetate of extraction solvent, 1:20 (g/mL) of solid/liquid ratio, and 2 min of extraction time were obtained. For the separation, from 1.5 g of the terpenoid extract, 220.1 mg of 4 , 255.5 mg of 5 , and 212.3 mg of the mixture of 1 , 2 , and 3 were obtained by pH‐zone‐refining countercurrent chromatography under the solvent system of chloroform/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (3:1:3:2, v/v/v/v) with aqueous ammonia and trifluoroacetic acid as retention and eluter agents. The enriched mixture (210 mg) was further separated by conventional high‐speed countercurrent chromatography with petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:0.8:1.1:0.6, v/v/v/v), yielding 30.1 mg of 1 , 35.5 mg of 2 , 12.3 mg of 3 . The structures of these five terpenoids were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic methods.     

Isolation and purification of alkaloids from lotus leaves by ionic‐liquid‐modified high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

An effective high‐speed countercurrent chromatography method was successfully established by using ionic liquids as the modifier of the two‐phase solvent system. Adding a small amount of ionic liquids significantly shortens the separation time and improves the separation efficiency. The conditions of ionic‐liquid‐modified high‐speed countercurrent chromatography including solvent systems, types and content of added ionic liquids, and ionic liquids posttreatment were investigated. The established method was successfully applied to separate alkaloids from lotus leaves using a two‐phase solvent system composed of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/methanol/water/[C₄mim][BF₄] (1:5:1:5:0.15, v/v/v/v/v). Four alkaloids pronuciferine (1.7 mg), N‐nornuciferine (4.3 mg), nuciferine (3.1 mg), and roemerine (2.1 mg) were obtained with the purities of 90.53, 92.25, 99.86, and 98.63%, respectively, from 100 mg crude extract of lotus leaves. The results indicated that the ionic‐liquid‐modified high‐speed countercurrent chromatography method was suitable for alkaloid separation from lotus leaves and would be a promising method for the separation of alkaloids from other natural products.     

Effective on‐line high‐speed shear dispersing emulsifier technique coupled with high‐performance countercurrent chromatography method for simultaneous extraction and isolation of carotenoids from Lycium barbarum L. fruits

An efficient combination strategy based on high‐speed shear dispersing emulsifier technique and high‐performance countercurrent chromatography was developed for on‐line extraction and isolation of carotenoids from the fruits of Lycium barbarum. In this work, the high‐speed shear dispersing emulsifier technique has been employed to extract crude extracts using the upper phase of high‐performance countercurrent chromatography solvent system composed of n‐hexane?dichloromethane?acetonitrile (10:4:6.5, v/v) as the extraction solvent. At the separation stage, the high‐performance counter‐current chromatography process adopts elution–extrusion mode and the upper phase of the solvent system as stationary phase (reverse‐phase mode). As a result, three compounds including zeaxanthin, zeaxanthin monopalmitate, and zeaxanthin dipalmitate with purities of 89, 90, and 93% were successfully obtained in one extraction‐separation operation within 120 min. The targeted compounds were analyzed and identified by high‐performance liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and NMR spectroscopy. The results indicated that the present on‐line combination method could serve as a simple, rapid, and effective way to achieve weak polar and unstable compounds from natural products.     

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.     

Efficient separation of tocopherol homologues in vegetable oil by ionic‐liquid‐based countercurrent chromatography using a non‐aqueous biphasic system

Tocopherol homologues are important fat‐soluble bioactive compounds with high nutritional value. However, it is of great challenge to separate these homologues because of their high structural similarities. In this work, ionic‐liquid‐based countercurrent chromatography was used for the separation and purification of tocopherol homologues. Conventional countercurrent chromatography and ionic‐liquid‐based countercurrent chromatography solvent systems were evaluated in respect of partition coefficient, separation factor, and stationary phase retention factor to separate these targets. Kind of ionic liquids, amount of ionic liquid, and sample amount were systematically optimized. A novel countercurrent chromatography non‐aqueous biphasic system composed of n‐hexane‐methanol‐1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride was established. The baseline separation of tocopherol mixtures was obtained in one cycle process. The ionic liquid played a key role in the countercurrent chromatography separation, which resulted in difference of partition behavior of individual tocopherol in the whole system through different hydrogen‐bonding affinity. Finally, n‐hexane‐methanol‐1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride (5:5:3, v/v) water‐free biphasic system was successfully applied to separate tocopherol homologues from vegetable oil that was not achieved beforehand. This method can be widely employed to separate many similar molecules such as tocotrienols, tocomonoenols, and marine‐derived tocopherol in food samples.     

Combinative application of pH‐zone‐refining and conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography for preparative separation of caged polyprenylated xanthones from gamboge

An efficient method for the preparative separation of four structurally similar caged xanthones from the crude extracts of gamboge was established, which involves the combination of pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography and conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography for the first time. pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography was performed with the solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (7:3:8:2, v/v/v/v), where 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid was added to the upper organic stationary phase as a retainer and 0.03% triethylamine was added to the aqueous mobile phase as an eluter. From 3.157 g of the crude extract, 1.134 g of gambogic acid, 180.5 mg of gambogenic acid and 572.9 mg of a mixture of two other caged polyprenylated xanthones were obtained. The mixture was further separated by conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography with a solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (5:5:10:5, v/v/v/v) and n‐hexane/methyl tert‐butyl ether/acetonitrile/water (8:2:6:4,v/v/v/v), yielding 11.6 mg of isogambogenic acid and 10.4 mg of β‐morellic acid from 218.0 mg of the mixture, respectively. The purities of all four of the compounds were over 95%, as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography, and the chemical structures of the four compounds were confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. The combinative application of pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography and conventional high‐speed counter‐current chromatography shows great advantages in isolating and enriching the caged polyprenylated xanthones.     

An efficient high‐speed countercurrent chromatography method for preparative separation of javanicin from Fusarium solani,a fungus isolated from the fruiting body of the mushroom Trametes trogii

To develop an efficient method for large preparation of javanicin from Fusarium solani, a rapid and simple method by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography was established based on average polarity (P′ values) and partition coefficients (K values) of crude samples. A suitable solvent system for high‐speed countercurrent chromatography was selected from many possible biphasic solvent systems. HSCCC was successfully applied to separate and purify javanicin, the main bioactive component of solid cultures of the fungus F. solani isolated from the fruiting body of Trametes trogii, with petroleum ether–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (4:3:2:1, v/v) as solvent system. A total amount of 40.6 mg of javanicin was obtained from 100 mg crude sample. The purity of javanicin was 92.2% with a recovery of 95.1%, as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatrography. The molecular structure was identified primarily by NMR and MS methods. The results indicated that high‐speed countercurrent chromatography could be a powerful technology for separating naphthoquinones from the solid cultures of the fungus F. solani. It is also of significance that the separation of javanicin from natural source was carried out for the first time utilizing high‐speed countercurrent chromatography.     

Extraction and isolation of flavonoid glycosides from Flos Sophorae Immaturus using ultrasonic‐assisted extraction followed by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

A method of ultrasonic‐assisted extraction followed by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography was established for the extraction and isolation of three flavonoid glycosides, i.e. rutin, narcissin, and nicotiflorin from Flos Sophorae Immaturus. The effects of ultrasonic‐assisted extraction factors for the main flavonoid compound (rutin) from Flos Sophorae Immaturus were optimized using Box–Behnken design combined with response surface methodology. The optimum conditions were determined as ultrasonic power 83% (600 W), solvent‐to‐material ratio 56:1, methanol concentration 82% v/v, and extraction time 60 min. Three bioactive flavonol glucosides, rutin, narcissin, and nicotiflorin were isolated from Flos Sophorae Immaturus using high‐speed countercurrent chromatography. The separation was performed with a two‐phase solvent system containing ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/methanol/water (4:0.9:0.2:5, v/v). Amounts of 87 mg of rutin, 10.8 mg of narcissin, and 1.8 mg of nicotiflorin were isolated from 302 mg of crude extract of Flos Sophorae Immaturus in a one‐step separation within 160 min with purities of 99.3, 98.0, and 95.1%, respectively, as determined by HPLC with diode array detection. Their structures were characterized by UV, MS, and NMR spectroscopy. It was demonstrated that the established method was simple, fast, and convenient, which was feasible to extract and isolate active flavonoid glycosides from Flos Sophorae Immaturus.     

Separation of epimeric aromatic acid (−)‐menthol esters by countercurrent chromatography using hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as an additive

The separation of ten epimeric aromatic acid (−)‐menthol esters by countercurrent chromatography with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as the mobile phase additive was investigated, and methods for the analysis of all the epimeric esters by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography were established. A biphasic solvent system composed of n‐hexane/20–70% methanol containing 50 mmol/L of hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (1:1, v/v) was selected, which provided high separation factors for five of the epimeric esters, and successful separations by countercurrent chromatography were achieved. The complete separation of five pairs of epimeric ester was obtained with the purity being over 98% for each peak fractions, as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The recovery of each analyte from the eluted fractions reached around 80–88%.     

A practicable strategy for enrichment and separation of four minor flavonoids including two isomers from barley seedlings by macroporous resin column chromatography,medium‐pressure LC,and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

Separation of minor compounds especially with similar polarities and structures from complex samples is a challenging work. In the present study, an efficient method was successfully established by macroporous resin column chromatography, medium‐pressure liquid chromatography, and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography for separation of four minor flavonoids from barley seedlings. Macroporous resin column chromatography and medium‐pressure liquid chromatography were used for enrichment of these four flavonoids. High‐pressure liquid chromatography analysis showed the total content of these four flavonoids increased from 2.2% in the crude extract to 95.3% in the medium‐pressure liquid chromatography fraction. It was indicated that the combination of macroporous resin column chromatography and medium‐pressure liquid chromatography could be a practicable strategy for enrichment of minor compounds from complex sample. Then, high‐speed countercurrent chromatography was employed for separation of these four flavonoids using ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/water (0.1% glacial acetic acid) (4:1:5, v/v/v) as solvent system. As a result, four flavonoids including two isomers with purities higher than 98% were obtained. Interestingly, two flavonoids existing in one high‐pressure liquid chromatography peak were also successfully separated. All these indicated high‐speed countercurrent chromatography had great potential for separation of compounds with similar structures and polarities. This study provides a reference for efficient enrichment and separation of minor compounds from complex sample.     

Separation and purification of two taxanes and one xylosyl‐containing taxane from Taxus wallichiana Zucc.: A comparison between high‐speed countercurrent chromatography and reversed‐phase flash chromatography

10‐Deacetylbaccatin III, an important semisynthetic precursor of paclitaxel and docetaxel, can be extracted from Taxus wallichiana Zucc. A process for the isolation and purification of 10‐deacetylbaccatin III ( 1 ), baccatin III ( 2 ), and 7β‐xylosyl‐10‐deacetyltaxol ( 3 ) from the leaves and branches of Taxus wallichiana Zucc. via macroporous resin column chromatography combined with high‐speed countercurrent chromatography or reversed‐phase flash chromatography was developed in this study. After fractionation by macroporous resin column chromatography, 80% methanol fraction was selected based on high‐performance liquid chromatography and liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry qualitative analysis. A solvent system composed of n‐hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, and water (1.6:2.5:1.6:2.5, v/v/v/v) was used for the high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation at a flow rate of 2.5 mL/min. The reversed‐phase flash chromatography separation was performed using methanol/water as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 3 mL/min. The high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation produced compounds 1 (10.2 mg, 94.4%), 2 (2.1 mg, 98.0%), and 3 (4.6 mg, 98.8%) from 100 mg of sample within 110 min, while the reversed‐phase flash chromatography separation purified compounds 1 (9.8 mg, 95.6%) and 3 (4.9 mg, 97.9%) from 100 mg of sample within 120 min.     

Optimization of the fractional precipitation of paclitaxel from a Taxus chinensis cell culture using response surface methodology and its isolation by consecutive high‐speed countercurrent chromatography

A consecutive preparation method for the isolation and purification of paclitaxel from the Taxus Chinensis cell culture was developed in this study. The process involved alkaline Al₂O₃ chromatography, fractional precipitation, and high‐speed countercurrent chromatography. The original cell culture materials were first extracted with methanol using ultrasound‐assisted extraction, and then the extract (the content of paclitaxel is 1.5%) was separated by alkaline Al₂O₃ column chromatography. Subsequently, fractional precipitation was used to obtain paclitaxel. In particular, response surface methodology was used to optimize the factors of fractional precipitation (methanol concentration, material‐to‐solvent ratio, and precipitating time were optimized as 48.14%, 8.85 mg/mL, and 48.71 h, respectively) and the yield of fractional precipitation product was 30.64 ± 0.60 mg (the content of paclitaxel is 89.3%, 27.37 ± 0.54 mg) from a 100 mg fraction by Al₂O₃ column separation (the content of paclitaxel is 32.4%). Then, the product was used for further isolation by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography. About 1.00 g paclitaxel (200 ± 2 mg in each loading) with a purity up to 99.61% was isolated from 1.25 g of fractional precipitation product with a solvent system of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1.2:1.8:1.5:1.5, v/v/v/v) in one run of five consecutive sample loadings without exchanging a new solvent system.     

Microwave‐assisted extraction coupled with countercurrent chromatography for the rapid preparation of flavonoids from Scutellaria barbata D. Don

As a famous Chinese herb having good inhibitory effects on numerous human cancers both in vitro and in vivo, Scutellaria barbata D. Don attracts extensive attention worldwide. In this work, four flavonoids named scutellarin, baicalin, luteolin, and apigenin were simply and rapidly prepared from S. barbata by microwave‐assisted extraction coupled to countercurrent chromatography. Extraction conditions including irradiation time, extraction temperature, liquid/solid ratio, and microwave power were optimized using an orthogonal array design method. The extract of S. barbata was separated and purified with a two‐phase solvent system composed of hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/acetic acid/water (1:5:1.5:1:4, v/v/v/v/v) and 4.5 mg of scutellarin, 4.6 mg of baicalin, 1.1 mg of luteolin, 2.1 mg of apigenin were obtained from 2.0 g original sample in a single run. The purities of scutellarin, baicalin, luteolin, and apigenin determined by HPLC were 93.6, 97.3, 97.6, and 98.4%, respectively. The targeted compounds were identified by LC with MS and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The total time including extraction, separation, and purification was <300 min. Compared to traditional methods, microwave‐assisted extraction coupled to countercurrent chromatography method is more simple and rapid for the extraction, separation, and purification of flavonoid compounds from natural products.     

The generally useful estimate of solvent systems method facilitates off-line two-dimensional countercurrent chromatography for isolating compositions from Siraitia grosvenorii roots

Solvent system selection is a crucial and the most time-consuming step for successful countercurrent chromatography separation. A thin-layer chromatography-based generally useful estimate of solvent systems method has been developed to simplify the solvent system selection. We herein utilized the method to select a solvent system for off-line two-dimensional countercurrent chromatography to separate chemical compositions from a complex fraction of the Siraitia grosvenorii root extract. The first-dimensional countercurrent separation using chloroform/methanol/water (10:5.5:4.5, v/v/v) yielded four compounds with high purity and three mixture fractions (Fr I, III, and VII). The second-dimensional countercurrent separation conducted on Fr I, III, and VII using the hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (4:6:6:4, 3:7:3:7, v/v/v) and chloroform/methanol/water (10:9:6, v/v/v) solvent systems, respectively, produced another four compounds. Four triterpenoids and four lignans were finally isolated, including two novel compounds. Hence, the generally useful estimate of solvent systems method is a feasible and efficient approach for selecting an applicable solvent system for separating complex samples. In addition, the off-line two-dimensional countercurrent chromatography method can improve both the peak resolution and the capacity of countercurrent chromatography.     

Centrifugal partition chromatography directly interfaced with mass spectrometry for the fast screening and fractionation of major xanthones in Garcina mangostana

Xanthones are well known for their interesting phytochemical properties, which make them attractive to the pharmaceutical and medicinal industry. We have therefore developed a method to analyse the major xanthones in Garcina mangostana. The xanthones were extracted by pressurized liquid extraction with ethanol and separated at the semi-preparative scale by centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) with a biphasic solvent system consisting of heptane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (2:1:2:1, v/v/v/v). A CPC-electrospray ionisation MS coupling was performed and used to simultaneously separate and identify the compounds. Thanks to a variable flow splitter and an additional stream of ethanol/1 mol L⁻¹ ammonium acetate (95:5, v/v), all the compounds were ionised, detected and monitored whatever the solvents used in mobile phase for the CPC separation. The dual mode or elution–extrusion which are less solvent-consuming and faster than the elution mode were used without loss of ionisation and detection.     

Enantioseparation of 3‐phenyllactic acid by chiral ligand exchange countercurrent chromatography

3‐Phenyllactic acid is an antimicrobial compound with broad‐spectrum activity against various bacteria and fungus. The observed difference in pharmacological activity between optical isomeric 3‐phenyllactic acid necessitates a method for enantioseparation. Chiral ligand exchange countercurrent chromatography was investigated for the enantioseparation of 3‐phenyllactic acid with a synthesized chiral ligand. A two‐phase solvent system was composed of n‐butanol/hexane/water (0.4:0.6:1, v/v/v) to which N‐n‐dodecyl‐l ‐hydroxyproline was added to the organic phase as chiral ligand and cupric acetate was added in the aqueous phase as a transitional metal ion. The influence factors were optimized by enantioselective liquid–liquid extraction. Baseline enantioseparation of racemic 3‐phenyllactic acid by analytical high‐speed countercurrent chromatography was achieved. The optical purities of enantiomeric 3‐phenyllactic acid reached 99.0%, as determined by chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography.     

Application of supercritical fluid extraction coupled with counter–current chromatography for extraction and online isolation of unstable chemical components from Rosa damascena

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) coupled with high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully used for the extraction and online isolation of the unstable compounds from Rosa damascene in a single extraction and separation operation in two stages. The solvent systems of SFE/HSCCC were optimized with the help of multiexponential function model. At the first stage, the upper phase of the solvent system of n‐butanol–tert‐butyl methyl ether–acetonitrile–0.1% aqueous TFA (1.7:1.0:0.8:4.0, v/v/v/v) was used as both the SFE entrainer and the HSCCC stationary phase, and the target compounds were eluted with the corresponding lower phase to separate the hydrophobic compounds. At the second stage, the upper phase of the solvent system of n‐hexane–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (3.2:1.0:2.8:2.6, v/v/v/v) was used as both the SFE entrainer and the HSCCC stationary phase, followed by elution with the corresponding lower phase to separate the moderate hydrophobic compounds. Six compounds including formononetin, delphinidin, cyaniding, 5,6,4′‐trihydroxy‐7,8‐dimethoxy flavone, 5,3′‐dihydroxy‐7,8‐dimethoxy flavone, and 5‐hydroxy‐6,7,8,3′,4′‐pentamethoxy flavone were successfully separated in one extraction–separation operation within 300 min. The targeted compounds were identified by MS and NMR spectroscopy. This research has opened up great prospects for industrial application of SFE/HSCCC to the extraction and separation of unstable compounds.     

Quick method for separating target compounds from the bark of Maqian (Zanthoxylum myriacanthum var. pubescens) by high‐performance countercurrent chromatography

Choosing a suitable solvent system for a countercurrent chromatography separation presents a challenge for many researchers. In this study, we introduce a quick method of separating a target compound from the bark of Zanthoxylum myriacanthum var. pubescens by countercurrent chromatography. This method relies on the thin‐layer chromatography based generally useful estimation of solvent systems. This paper will present how to quickly choose a suitable solvent system with a thin‐layer chromatography based generally useful estimation of solvent systems working chart. O‐Methyltembamide ( 1 ) was enriched by countercurrent chromatography using n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (6:4:6:4) as the solvent system. Further purification was achieved by high‐performance liquid chromatography with purities of 98.2% from Z. myriacanthum var. pubescens bark.     

Separation and purification of intermediates for the preparation of naproxen from synthetic mixtures by countercurrent chromatography

Three key intermediates in the preparation of the nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drug naproxen were successfully separated and purified with high purity from synthetic mixtures by countercurrent chromatography with a selected biphasic solvent system. The biphasic solvent system composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (9:1:9:1, v/v/v/v) was selected according to partition performance of the three components using thin‐layer chromatography. Fifty milligrams of the synthetic mixture after the three‐step reaction was injected into a preparative countercurrent chromatography separation column and yielded 3.5, 14.0, and 8.0 mg of three key intermediates with 95.0, 99.0, and 98.0% purity, and the recovery of each component was 65.2, 71.2, and 69.6%, respectively. The results indicated that countercurrent chromatography is an efficient alternative and economical method for the separation and purification of intermediate components from synthetic mixtures.