Abstract: | Droplet counter-current chromatography has proven to be an efficient method for separating polar compounds in the range of a few mg to gram quantities, and in this respect is complementary to the popular high-performance liquid chromatography. This is exemplified in the following by the direct obtention of four bioactive saponins in pure form from the crude extract of Hedera helix berries, isolation of an extremely unstable catechin glycoside from Dalbergia nitidula and the separation of flavone glycosides. A rapid thin-layer chromatography method for selecting the solvent system is also described. |