High‐performance countercurrent chromatography separation of Peucedanum cervaria fruit extract for the isolation of rare coumarin derivatives

For the first time, rare major and minor compounds from fruits of Peucedanum cervaria were isolated. High‐performance countercurrent chromatography with two different solvent systems, heptane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (3:2:3:2 and 2:1:2:1, v/v), was successfully used in the reversed‐phase mode. A scale‐up process from analytical to semipreparative in a very short time was developed. The structures of isolated compounds were evaluated by high‐performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, and one‐ and two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy. (8S,9R)‐9‐(3‐Methylbutenoyloxy)‐O‐acetyl‐8,9‐dihydrooroselol (compound B), (8S,9R)‐9‐(2‐methyl‐Z‐butenoyloxy)‐O‐acetyl‐8,9‐dihydrooroselol (edultin, compound C), and (8S,9R)‐9‐acetoxy‐O‐(2α‐methylbutyryl)‐8,9‐dihydrooroselol (compound D) were obtained using heptane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (2:1:2:1, v/v) in <40 min. The method yielded 4.6 mg of a mixture of compounds B and C (11:89) and 3.7 mg of compound D. These amounts were obtained from the crude extract (0.5 g) in a single run. Although the compounds are known, their isolation by countercurrent chromatography and the analysis of their relative stereochemistry by two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy have been performed for the first time. Additionally, heptane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (3:2:3:2, v/v) led to the isolation of oxypeucedanin (1.2 mg; compound A). This is the first time that angular dihydrofuranocoumarin was isolated from plant extract by countercurrent chromatography.     

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.     

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.     

Separation of three phenolic high‐molecular‐weight compounds from the crude extract of Terminalia Chebula Retz. by ultrasound‐assisted extraction and high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

This study presents an efficient strategy for separation of three phenolic compounds with high molecular weight from the crude extract of Terminalia chebula Retz. by ultrasound‐assisted extraction and high‐speed counter‐current chromatography. The ultrasound‐assisted extraction conditions were optimized by response surface methodology and the results showed the target compounds could be well enriched under the optimized extraction conditions. Then the crude extract was directly separated by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography without any pretreatment using n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:7:0.5:3, v/v/v/v) as the solvent system. In 180 min, 13 mg of A, 18 mg of B, and 9 mg of C were obtained from 200 mg of crude sample. Their structures were identified as Chebulagic acid (A, 954 Da), Chebulinic acid (B, 956 Da), and Ellagic acid (C) by ¹H NMR spectroscopy.     

Separation of caffeoylquinic acids and flavonoids from Asteris souliei by high‐performance counter‐current chromatography and their anti‐inflammatory activity in vitro

Eleven compounds were successfully separated from Asteris souliei by using a two‐step high‐performance counter‐current chromatography method. The first step involved a reversed phase isocratic counter‐current chromatography separation using hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:0.8:1:1 v/v/v/v), which produced three fractions, the first two of which were mixtures. The second step used step‐gradient reversed‐phase counter‐current chromatography with hexane/butanol/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:0.5:3.5:1:4 v/v/v/v/v) initially followed by hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:2:1:2 v/v/v/v) to separate Fraction 1 into seven compounds; and hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:1:1:1.2 v/v/v/v) to separate Fraction 2 into three further compounds. The chemical structures of the separated compounds were identified by ESI‐MS and NMR spectroscopy (¹H and ¹³C). Baicalin ( 5 ), eriodictyol ( 7 ), apigenin‐7‐glycoside ( 8 ), quercetin ( 9 ), luteolin ( 10 ), and apigenin ( 11 ) showed obvious inhibitory effects on lipopolysaccharide‐induced nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells at a concentration of 10 μg/mL.     

An effective method based on medium‐pressure liquid chromatography and recycling high‐speed counter‐current chromatography for enrichment and separation of three minor components with similar polarity from Dracocephalum tanguticum

The separation of minor compounds, especially those with similar polarities from a complex sample, remains challenging. In the proposed study, an effective method based on medium‐pressure liquid chromatography and recycling high‐speed counter‐current chromatography was developed for the enrichment and separation of three minor components from Dracocephalum tanguticum. The crude extract was directly introduced to medium‐pressure liquid chromatography for the enrichment of the three minor components. Based on high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis, the total content of these three compounds increased from 0.48% in the crude extract to 85.3% in the medium‐pressure liquid chromatography fraction. In addition, high‐speed counter‐current chromatography was employed to separate the enriched compounds using the solvent system hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1.18:8.82:1.18:8.82, v/v/v/v). As a result, compound 3 and a mixture of compounds 1 and 2 were obtained. In order to improve the resolution of compounds 1 and 2 while saving separation time, a recycling and heart‐cut mode was used. Finally, compounds 1 and 2 were obtained after five cycles. These compounds were identified as 3‐phenylethyl β‐d ‐glucopyranoside ( 1 ), tazettoside E ( 2 ), and cirsiliol‐4′‐glucoside ( 3 ). Compounds 1 and 2 were primarily separated from D. tanguticum. Moreover, the developed method provided a reference for the separation of minor components from the complex sample.     

Separation of three polar compounds from Rheum tanguticum by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography with an ethyl acetate/glacial acetic acid/water system

The separation of polar compounds by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography is still regarded as a challenge. In this study, an efficient strategy for the separation of three polar compounds from Rheum tanguticum has been successfully conducted by using high‐speed countercurrent chromatography. X‐5 macroporous resin chromatography was used for the fast enrichment of the target compounds. Then, the target fraction was directly introduced into high‐speed countercurrent chromatography for separation using ethyl acetate/glacial acetic acid/water (100:1:100, v/v/v) as the solvent system. Consequently, three polar compounds including gallic acid, catechin, and gallic acid 4‐O‐β‐d ‐(6′‐O‐galloyl) glucoside were obtained with purities higher than 98%. The results showed glacial acetic acid could be such an appropriate regulator for the ethyl acetate/water system. This study provides a reference for the separation of polar compounds from natural products by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography.     

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.     

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.     

Isolation and purification of arctigenin from Fructus Arctii by enzymatic hydrolysis combined with high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

Enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment combined with high‐speed counter‐current chromatography for the transformation and isolation of arctigenin from Fructus Arctii was successfully developed. In the first step, the extract solution of Fructus Arctii was enzymatic hydrolyzed by β‐glucosidase. The optimal hydrolysis conditions were 40°C, pH 5.0, 24 h of hydrolysis time, and 1.25 mg/mL β‐glucosidase concentration. Under these conditions, the content of arctigenin was transformed from 2.60 to 12.59 mg/g. In the second step, arctigenin in the hydrolysis products was separated and purified by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography with a two‐phase solvent system composed of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (10:25:15:20, v/v), and the fraction was analyzed by HPLC, ESI‐MS, and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Finally, 102 mg of arctigenin with a purity of 98.9% was obtained in a one‐step separation from 200 mg of hydrolyzed sample.     

Efficient method for screening and identification of radical scavengers in the leaves of Olea europaea L

In this article, an efficient method was developed to screen, isolate and identify the major radical scavengers in the leaves of Olea europaea L. by DPPH‐HPLC‐DAD, HSCCC and NMR. The method of DPPH‐HPLC‐DAD was used to screen the major radical scavengers. It was found that three major constituents (A, B, C) in the extract of the leaves of O. europaea L. possessed potential antioxidant activities. In order to identify the chemical structures of those compounds, the HSCCC method with a two‐phase solvent system composed of petroleum ether–ethyl acetate–water at an optimized volume ratio of 6:600:700 (v/v/v) together with column chromatography was developed to isolate and purify the active compounds. Pure compounds A (225 mg), B (10 mg) and C (12 mg) with purities 92.6, 95.1 and 96.4%, respectively, were obtained from the crude sample (500 mg). Their structures were identified as oleuropein (A), luteolin‐7‐O‐glucoside (B) and verbascoside (C) by ¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

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.     

Preparative isolation of neomangiferin and mangiferin from Rhizoma anemarrhenae by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography using ionic liquids as a two‐phase solvent system modifier

A preparative high‐speed countercurrent chromatography method for isolation and purification of neomangiferin and mangiferin from Rhizoma anemarrhenae was successfully established by using ionic liquids as the modifier of the two‐phase solvent system. Neomangiferin and mangiferin were purified from the crude extract of R. anemarrhenae by using ethyl acetate‐water‐[C₄mim][PF₆] (5:5:0.2 v/v) as two‐phase solvent system. In total, 22.5 mg of neomangiferin and 70.6 mg of mangiferin were obtained from 150 mg of the crude extract. The purities of neomangiferin and mangiferin were 97.2 and 98.1%, respectively, as determined by HPLC. The chemical structures of the isolated compounds were identified by ¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR.     

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.     

Separation of five diketopiperazines from the marine fungus Alternaria alternate HK‐25 by high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

High‐speed counter‐current chromatography was applied to the separation of five diketoperazines from the marine Alternaria alternate HK‐25 for the first time using one‐step elution method with a pair of two‐phase solvent systems composed of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (5.5:11:5:7, v/v). Where 151.6 mg of crude sample yielded five diketoperazines, 12,13‐dihydroxy‐fumitremorgin C ( 1 ), gliotoxin ( 2 ), demethoxyfum itremorgin C ( 3 ), bisdethiobis(methylthio)gliotoxin ( 4 ), fumitremorgin C ( 5 ), and the purities of all compounds were above 94% as determined by high‐performance liquid chromatography. The structures of these compounds were identified by ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. These results showed that high‐speed counter‐current chromatography can provide a feasible way for highly effective preparation of marine natural products, which ensured the supple of numerous samples for drug development.     

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.     

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.     

Preparative separation and purification of liensinine,isoliensinine and neferine from seed embryo of Nelumbo nucifera GAERTN using high‐speed counter‐current chromatography

A preparative high‐speed counter‐current chromatography method for separation and purification of liensinine, isoliensinine and neferine from seed embryo of Nelumbo nucifera GAERTN was successfully established by using n‐hexane‐ethyl acetate‐methanol‐water (5:8:4:5, v/v, containing 0.5% NH₄OH) as the two‐phase solvent system. From 200 mg of crude extract, 18.4 mg of liensinine, 19.6 mg of isoliensinine and 58.4 mg of neferine were obtained with the purity of 96.8, 95.9, and 98.6%, respectively. The identification of the three alkaloids was performed with ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR.     

Preparative separation of anti‐oxidative constituents from Rubia cordifolia by column‐switching counter‐current chromatography

An effective column‐switching counter‐current chromatography (CCC) protocol combining stepwise elution mode was successfully developed for simultaneous and preparative separation of anti‐oxidative components from ethyl acetate extract of traditional Chinese herbal medicine Rubia cordifolia. The column‐switching CCC system was interfaced by a commercial low‐pressure six‐port switching valve equipped with a sample loop, allowing large volume introduction from the first dimension (1^st‐D) to the second dimension (2^nd‐D). Moreover, to extend the polarity window, three biphasic liquid systems composed of n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (1:2:1:2, 2:3:2:3, 5:6:5:6 v/v) were employed using stepwise elution mode in the 1^st‐D. By valve switching technique the whole interested region of 1^st‐D could be introduced to second dimension for further separation with the solvent system 5:5:4:6 v/v. Using the present column‐switching CCC protocol, 500 mg of crude R. cordifolia extract were separated, producing milligram‐amounts of four anti‐oxidative components over 90% pure. Structures of purified compounds were identified by ¹H and ¹³C NMR.