Investigation on ultrasound-assisted extraction of salvianolic acid B from Salvia miltiorrhiza root

It is reported that salvianolic acid B, a bioactive phenolic compound contained in the root of Salvia miltiorrhiza, exhibits a much stronger activity in free radical scavenging and antioxidance than those of vitamin E. When a conventional refluxing method is adopted to extract salvianolic acid B from the root, in which the materials are subjected to higher temperature and longer time, the yield of this phenolic compound is lower due to the possibility of its hydrolysis to tanshinol. However, a higher extraction yield can be achieved over a shorter time period and lower temperature when an ultrasound-assisted extraction method is used. This paper investigated the parameters influencing the extraction of salvianolic acid B. Factors such as extraction time, frequency of the ultrasound, the ratio of solvent to material, and types of extraction solvent were examined. A comparison was also conducted between conventional refluxing and ultrasound-assisted extraction. Results showed that the optimal parameters to extract salvianolic acid B from the root of S. miltiorrhiza were as follows: ultrasonic frequency: 45 Hz; solvent: 60% aqueous ethanol; extraction temperature: 30 °C; extraction time duration: 25 min.; ratio of solvent to material: 20:1 (v/w, ml/g). Under these conditions, the yield of salvianolic acid B was 5.17 mg/g (33.93 mg/g) higher than those with conventional refluxing method (28.76 mg/g), indicating that the efficiency and the yield of ultrasound-assisted extraction method are higher than reflux method, and the hydrolysis of salvianolic acid B to tanshinol is effectively avoided.