Preparative isolation of three anthraquinones from Rumex japonicus by high-speed counter-current chromatography

Three anthraquinones--emodin, chrysophanol, and physcion--were successfully purified from the dichloromethane extract of the Chinese medicinal herb Rumex japonicus by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). The extract was separated with n-hexane-ethanol-water (18:22:3, v/v/v) as the two-phase solvent system and yielded 3.4 mg of emodin, 24.1 mg of chrysophanol, and 2.0 mg of physcion from 500 mg of sample with purities of 99.2 %, 98.8% and 98.2%, respectively. The HSCCC fractions were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the chemical structures of the three anthraquinones were confirmed by 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR analysis. This is the first time these anthraquinones have been obtained from R. japonicus by HSCCC.