Extraction and preparative purification of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge by high-speed counter-current chromatography

• Published in: Journal of chromatography. B, Analytical technologies in the biomedical and life sciences Vol. 879; no. 21; pp. 1899 - 1904
• Main Authors: Sun, Ailing, Zhang, Yongqing, Li, Aifeng, Meng, Zhaoling, Liu, Renmin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.07.2011; Elsevier
• Subjects: Analysis; Analytical, structural and metabolic biochemistry; Biological and medical sciences; chemical structure; Chromatography; countercurrent chromatography; Countercurrent Distribution - methods; Diterpenes, Abietane - chemistry; Diterpenes, Abietane - isolation & purification; Drugs, Chinese Herbal - chemistry; ethyl acetate; Extraction; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General pharmacology; high performance liquid chromatography; High speed; High-speed counter-current chromatography; Medical sciences; nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Purification; Salvia miltiorrhiza; Salvia miltiorrhiza - chemistry; Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge; Separation; Solvents; Tanshinone; Tanshinones; Asia; China; Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge; Tanshinone; High-speed counter-current chromatography; Terpenoid; Countercurrent chromatography; Pharmacognosy; Quinone; High-speed counter-current; Medicinal plant; Preparative scale; Salvia miltiorrhiza; Folk medicine; Labiatae; Dicotyledones; Angiospermae; Plant origin; chromatography; Diterpene; Spermatophyta
• ISSN: 1570-0232; 1873-376X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2011.05.014

A method for extraction and preparative separation of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge was successfully established in this paper. Tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge were extracted using ethyl acetate as the extractant under reflux. The extracts were then purified by high speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with light petroleum–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (6:4:6.5:3.5, v/v) as the two phase solvent system. The upper phase was used as the stationary phase and the lower phase as the mobile phase. 8.2 mg of dihydrotanshinone I, 5.8 mg of 1,2,15,16-tetrahydrotanshiquinone, 26.3 mg of cryptotanshinone, 16.2 mg of tanshinone I, 25.6 mg of neo-przewaquinone A, 68.8 mg of tanshinone IIA and 9.3 mg of miltirone were obtained from 400 mg of extracts from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge in one-step HSCCC separation, with the purity of 97. 6%, 95.1%, 99.0%, 99.1%, 93.2%, 99.3% and 98.7%, respectively, as determined by HPLC area normalization method. Their chemical structures were identified by 1H NMR.