The Investigation Of Active Constituents From Acanthopanax Senticosus Harms By Means Of Microwave-assisted Extraction

Flavonoids (hyperin, rutin, quercitrin and quercetin) and saponins compounds from Acanthopanax Senticosus Harms have been extracted by means of a microwave-assisted extraction(MAE) technique. Flavonoids have been determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. The influence of some operation conditions, such as ethanol concentration, microwave irradiation time and processing pressure, on the extraction yield of those compounds has been studied by using orthogonal test and optimization based on multivariate statistics. The experimental results show that the highest extraction yield of flavonoids can be obtained when extraction solvent is 50% ethanol, processing pressure is 700kPa, microwave irradiation time is 10 minutes and the ratio of sample weight to solvent volume is 1:20. In the optimal conditions of MAE, the extraction yield offlavonoids is higher 40% than that with Soxhlet extraction. The highest extraction yield of saponins can be obtained when extraction solvent is 70% ethanol, processing pressure is 700kPa, microwave irradiation time is lOminutes and the ratio of sample weight to solvent volume is 1:30. In the optimal conditions of MAE, the extraction yield of saponins is higher 34% than that with Soxhlet extraction.The experimental results show that, comparing with Soxhlet extraction, MAE can drastically reduce the time of extraction and the amount of solvent consumption, improve extraction yield and selectivity. The MAE is a promising technology for extracting active compounds from Chinese material medica.