Isolation and purification of flavonoid glycosides from Trollius ledebouri using high-speed counter-current chromatography by stepwise increasing the flow-rate of the mobile phase

Three flavonoid glycosides including orientin, vitexin, quercetin-3-O-neohesperidoside and one unknown compound were isolated and purified by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) and semi-preparative HPLC from Trollius ledebouri Reichb., a traditional Chinese medicine. Preparative HSCCC with a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-water (2:1:3, v/v/v) was successfully performed by increasing the flow-rate of the mobile phase from 1.5 to 2.5 ml/min after 190 min. Consequently, 95.8 mg orientin, 11.6 mg vitexin, 9.3 mg unknown compound with purities of over 97% and one partially purified peak fraction (contained quercetin-3-O-neohesperidoside at 85.1% purity) were obtained from 500 mg of the crude extract. Then the partially purified fraction was further purified by reversed-phase semi-preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. The structure identification of all pure fractions was carried out by UV, MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR.     

Preparative separation of flavonoid glycosides in leaves extract of Ampelopsis grossedentata using high-speed counter-current chromatography

Preparative separation of flavonoid glycosides in leaves extract of Ampelopsis grossedentata was conducted using high-speed counter-current chromatograph (HSCCC) with a solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (1:6:1.5:7.5, v/v). In a single operation, 28 mg of 5,7-dihydroxy-3',4'-trihydroxyflavone-3-O-6'-rhamnose and 18 mg of 5,7-dihydroxy-3',4'-dihydroxyflavone-3-O-6'-rhamnose was obtained from 150 mg of the extract. The chemical structure of the two compounds was elucidated by electrospray ionization (EIS) MS and NMR.     

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 OF THE MINOR FLAVONOLS FROM FLOS GOSSYPII BY HIGH-SPEED COUNTERCURRENT CHROMATOGRAPHY

An effective high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) method was established for further separation and purification of four minor flavonols in addition to five major flavonols which were reported by our previous study from extracts of Flos Gossypii. HSCCC was performed with three two-phase solvent systems composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (7.5:15:6:7, v/v), (2.5:15:2:7, v/v) and (0:1:0:1, v/v). The separation was repeated 3 times, and 3.8 mg of 8-methoxyl-kaempferol-7-O-β-D-rhamnoside (HPLC purity 98.27%), 6.7 mg of astragalin (HPLC purity 94.18%), 3.3 mg of 4'-methoxyl-quercetin-7-O-β-D-glucoside (HPLC purity 94.30%) and 8.2 mg of hyperoside (HPLC purity 93.48%) were separated from 150 mg of the crude sample. The chemical structures of the flavonols were confirmed by MS, (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR. Meanwhile, the results indicated that the target compound with smaller K value (<0.5) can be separated by increasing column length of HSCCC. And four separation rules of flavonols according to the present study and references were summarized, which can be used as a useful guide for separation of flavonols by HSCCC.     

Preparative isolation and purification of four compounds from Cistanches deserticola Y.C. Ma by high-speed counter-current chromatography

Following a constituent enrichment step on a silica gel column, four phenyl-ethanoid glycosides were successfully isolated from Cistanches deserticola and purified by preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with a two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-ethanol-water (40:6:6:50, v/v/v/v). A total of 30.9 mg acteoside, 13.0 mg isoacteoside, 12.5 mg syringalide A 3'-α-L-rhamnopyranoside and 7.2 mg 2'-acetylacteoside with purity of higher than 95%, as determined by HPLC-ELSD, were obtained in one-step separation from 297 mg of Cistanche deserticola extract, respectively. Their structures were identified by HR-MS, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR.     

One step isolation and purification of liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Risch. using high-speed counter-current chromatography

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) technique in semi-preparative scale has been successfully applied to the separation of bioactive flavonoid compounds, liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin in one step from the crude extract of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Risch. The HSCCC was performed using a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-acetonitrile-water (2:2:1:0.6:2, v/v). Yields of liquiritigenin (98.9% purity) and isoliquiritigenin (98.3% purity) obtained were 0.52% and 0.32%. Chemical structures of the purified liquiritigenin and isoliquiritigenin were identified by electrospray ionization-MS (ESI-MS) and NMR analysis.     

Simultaneous separation of triterpenoid saponins and flavonoid glycosides from the roots of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch by pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography

Glycosides including triterpenoid saponins and flavonoid glycosides are the main constituents of Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch (licorice) and exhibit prominent pharmacological activities. However, conventional methods for the separation of glycosides always cause irreversible adsorption and unavoidable loss of sample due to their high hydrophilicities. The present paper describes a convenient method for the simultaneous separation of triterpenoid saponins and flavonoid glycosides from licorice by pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography. Ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/water (2:3:5, v/v) with 10 mM TFA in the upper organic stationary phase and 10 mM ammonia in the lower aqueous mobile phase was used as the biphasic solvent system. Three triterpenoid saponins and two flavonoid glycosides including licorice‐saponin A3 (63.3 mg), glycyrrhizic acid (342.2 mg), 3‐O‐[β‐d ‐glucuronopyranosyl‐(1 → 2)‐β‐d ‐galactopyranosyl]glycyrrhetic acid (56.0 mg), liquiritin apioside (232.6 mg), and liquiritin (386.5 mg) were successfully obtained from licorice ethanol extract (2 g) in one step. This method subtly takes advantage of the common acidic properties of triterpenoid saponins and flavonoid glycosides, and obviously is much more efficient and convenient than the previous methods. It is also the first time that the separation of acidic triterpenoid saponins by using pH‐zone‐refining counter‐current chromatography has been reported.     

High performance liquid chromatography equipped with a cathodic detector and column-switching device as a high-throughput method for a phosphatase assay with p-nitrophenyl phosphate

A preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) method for isolation and purification of coumarin compounds from the Chinese medicinal plant Peucedanum decursivum (Miq.) Maxim (Zihuaqianhu in Chinese) was successfully established by using light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:7:4, v/v) as the two-phase solvent system. The upper phase of light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:7:4, v/v) was used as the stationary phase of HSCCC. Nodakenetin (2.8 mg), 6.1 mg of Pd-C-IV, 7.3 mg of Pd-D-V, 4.7 mg of ostruthin, 7.8 mg of decursidin and 11.2 mg of decursitin C with the purity of 88.3%, 98.0%, 94.2%, 97.1%, 97.8% and 98.4%, respectively, were separated successfully in one-step separation from 150 mg of crude sample from P. decursivum (Miq.) Maxim. After purified by HSCCC again with light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:5:4:5, v/v) as the two-phase solvent system, the purity of (I) can reach 99.4%. The structures of all the compounds were identified by 1H NMR and 13C NMR.     

Isolation of dammarane saponins from Panax notoginseng by high-speed counter-current chromatography

The Chinese phytomedicinal formulation Sanqi Zongdai Pian, traditionally prepared from crude extracts from roots of Panax notoginseng (Araliaceae), contains highly polar dammarane saponins which were separated at a preparative scale using high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). In each operation, 283 mg methanolic extract of five tablets was separated and yielded pure 157, 17, 13 and 56 mg of ginsenoside-Rb1, notoginsenoside-R1, ginsenoside-Re and ginsenoside-Rg1, respectively, n-hexane-n-butanol-water (3:4:7, v/v/v) was used for the two-phase solvent system of the HSCCC separation. The chemical structures of three ginsenosides and one notoginsenoside were elaborated by means of electrospray ionization MS-MS and NMR analysis.     

Application of complexation high-speed counter-current chromatography in the separation of 5-hydroxyisoflavone isomers from Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC

A novel separation technique of complexation high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using copper ion as a complexation agent was first developed to isolate 5-hydroxyisoflavone isomers from Belamcanda chinensis (L.) DC. According to the partition coefficient and separation factor, the two-phase solvent system composed of light petroleum-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (3:5:3:5, v/v) and copper nitrate (0.10mol/L in the lower phase) was selected. 9.2mg isoirigenin (1), 46.4mg irigenin (2) and 1.2mg 5,7,4'-trihydroxy-6,3',5'-trimethoxyisoflavone (3) were simultaneously purified from 100mg crude extract by HSCCC with the purity of 95.06%, 96.98% and 93.69%, respectively. As evidenced by the results of UV-Vis spectroscopy, the stoichiometries of the copper ion with the three 5-hydroxyisoflavones were all 1:1 and their chelating power was 3>2>1. Those explained the complexation HSCCC behavior. It is the first report that includes the practical application of complexation HSCCC and explanation of its chromatographic behavior.     

PREPARATIVE ISOLATION AND PURIFICATION OF FIVE FLAVONOIDS FROM POGOSTEMON CABLIN BENTH BY HIGH-SPEED COUNTERCURRENT CHROMATOGRAPHY AND PREPARATIVE HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

High-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC) and preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) were successively used for the separation of pogostone and four flavonoids from Pogostemon cablin (Blanco) Benth. An efficient HSCCC separation was achieved on a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (11:5:11:5, v/v/v/v). Three well-separated peaks were obtained in the HSCCC chromatogram. The first and the second fractions each contained two flavonoids which were further separated by preparative HPLC. Consequently, the separation yielded 11.5 mg of 4', 5-Dihydroxy-3', 7-dimethoxyflavanone at a purity of 99%, 20.3 mg of 5- Hydroxy-7, 3', 4'-trimethoxyflavanone at a purity of 98%, 18 mg of 5, 4'-Dihydroxy-3, 7, 3'-trimethoxyflavone at a purity of 96%, and 8 mg of 5-Hydroxy-3, 7, 4'-tetramethoxyflvone at a purity of 98%. The third HSCCC fraction yielded 18.5 mg of pogostone at a purity of 95%. The chemical structures of these compounds were identified by ESI-MS(n), (1)H-NMR, and (13)C-NMR.     

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.     

Analytical separation of tea catechins and food-related polyphenols by high-speed counter-current chromatography

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using the type-J coil planet centrifuge was applied to compositional analysis of tea catechins and separation of other food-related polyphenols. The HSCCC separation of nine different standard compounds and those from extracts of commercial tea leaves was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of tert-butyl methyl ether-acetonitrile-0.1% aqueous trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) (2:2:3, v/v/v) by eluting the upper organic phase at a flow rate of 2 ml/min. The main compounds in the extract of non-fermented green tea were found to be monomeric catechins, their galloylated esters and caffeine. In addition to these compounds, oxidized pigments, such as hydrophobic theaflavins (TFs) and polar thearubigins (TRs) were also separated and detected from the extracts of semi-fermented oolong tea and fermented black tea. Furthermore, several food-related polyphenols, such as condensed catechin oligomers (procyanidins), phenolic acids and flavonol glycosides were clearly separated under the same HSCCC condition. These separation profiles of HSCCC provide useful information about the hydrophobic diversity of these bioactive polyphenols present in various types of teas and food products.     

高良姜中二苯基庚烷类化合物的高速逆流色谱分离制备

应用高速逆流色谱法(HSCCC)分离纯化了高良姜中3种二苯基庚烷类化合物。以正己烷-乙酸乙酯-甲醇-水(2:3:1.75:1, v/v/v/v)为两相溶剂系统,下相为固定相,上相为流动相,在主机转速为858 r/min、流速1.5 mL/min的条件下,从122.20 mg高良姜石油醚萃取物中经一步HSCCC分离可制备得到5R-羟基-7-(4-羟基-3-甲氧基苯基)-1-苯基-3-庚酮(7.37 mg)、7-(4-羟基-3-甲氧基苯基)-1-苯基-4E-烯-3-庚酮(9.11 mg)和1,7-二苯基-4E-烯-3-庚酮(15.44 mg),经高效液相色谱分析,纯度均大于93%,各化合物的结构由质谱和核磁共振氢谱、碳谱鉴定确证。该方法简便、快速、高效,可用于高良姜中二苯基庚烷类化合物的快速分离制备。     

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.     

Preparative separation of rhein from Chinese traditional herb by repeated high-speed counter-current chromatography

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was repeatedly used for isolation and purification of rhein from Rheum officinale Baill (Dahuang) with a two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (3:7:5:5, v/v), which had been selected by analytical (HSCCC). Using two preparative units of the HSCCC centrifuge, about a 500 mg amount of the crude extract was separated, yielding 6.7 mg of rhein at a high purity of over 97%.     

Separation and purification of five phenylpropanoid glycosides from Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo by a macroporous resin column combined with high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

Five phenylethanoid glycosides (PhGs), forsythoside B, verbascoside, alyssonoside, isoverbascoside, and leucosceptoside B, were isolated and purified from Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudo by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC) combined with macroporous resin (MR) column separation. In the present study, the two‐phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate/n‐butanol/water (13:3:10, v/v/v) was used for HSCCC separation. A total of 27 mg of forsythoside B, 41 mg of verbascoside, 29 mg of alyssonoside, 23 mg of isoverbascoside, and 13 mg of leucosceptoside B with purities of 97.7, 99.2, 99.5, 99.3, and 97.3%, respectively, were obtained in a one‐step separation within 4 h from 150 mg of crude extract. The recoveries of the five PhGs after MR‐HSCCC separation were 74.5, 76.5, 72.5, 76.4, and 77.0%, respectively. The chemical structures of all five compounds were identified by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy.     

Preparative isolation and purification of two amides from Mallotus lianus Croiz by high-speed counter-current chromatography

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was applied to the preparative isolation and purification of two amides from Mallotus lianus Croiz. In a single HSCCC separation, using the two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (5:1:5:1 v/v), 247.5 mg of the enriched crude sample was separated to afford 10.3 mg of N-isobutyl-2E,4E,12Z-octadecatrienamide and 15.7 mg of (7Z,10Z,18Z)tricosa-7,10,18-trienamide, a novel compound, with the purities of 98.0 and 94.6%, respectively. The HSCCC fractions were analyzed by HPLC and chemical structures of the compounds were identified by 1D- and 2D-NMR, ESI-, and GC-MS.     

Isolation and purification of acteoside and isoacteoside from Plantago psyllium L. by high-speed counter-current chromatography

Two isomeric phenylethanoid glycosides, acteoside and isoacteoside were isolated and purified from the seeds of Plantago psyllium L. for the first time by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) using a solvent system consisting of ethyl acetate-water (1:1, v:v). By injecting 200 mg of the n-butanol extract of P. psyllium for five consecutive times, the two-step HSCCC procedure yielded a total of 165 mg of acteoside and 17.5 mg of isoacteoside from 978 mg extract. The recovery rates for acteoside and isoacteoside were 90 and 84%, respectively, and the purities were 98 and 94%, respectively. The HSCCC fractions were analyzed by HPLC and the structures were identified by UV, LC-APCI-MS in negative ion mode, and confirmed by NMR experiments.     

Purification of astilbin and isoastilbin in the extract of smilax glabra rhizome by high-speed counter-current chromatography

Purification of astilbin from the rhizome extract of Smilax glabra was conducted using a high-speed counter-current chromatograph equipped with a 700 mL column. In a single operation, 1.5 g of crude sample was separated to yield 105 mg of component astilbin and 48 mg of isoastilbin while the upper phase of the two-phase solvent system composed of n-hexane-n-butanol-water (1:1:2, v/v/v) was used for stationary phase. The chemical structures of the two flavonoid glycosides were confirmed by electrospray ionization ion trap multiple mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments.