Preparative isolation of three anthraquinones from Rumex japonicus by high-speed counter-current chromatography

• Published in: Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2011-01, Vol.16 (2), p.1201-1210
• Main Authors: Guo, Shuying, Feng, Bo, Zhu, Ruonan, Ma, Jiankang, Wang, Wei
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; anthraquinones; Anthraquinones - chemistry; Anthraquinones - isolation & purification; Centrifuges; Chromatography; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - methods; chrysophanol; Countercurrent Distribution - methods; emodin; Emodin - analogs & derivatives; Emodin - chemistry; Emodin - isolation & purification; high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC); Molecular Structure; Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; physcion; Rumex - chemistry; Rumex japonicus Houtt; Solvents; Solvents - chemistry
• ISSN: 1420-3049; 1420-3049
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules16021201

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.