Extraction of Tanshinones Rich Extract of Danshen (Salvia Miltiorrhiza Bunge) Root Using Adsorptive (Non-Ionic) Macroporous Resins

Abstract

Tanshinones are an important lipophilic, bioactive diterpenoid group of danshen roots with many pharmacological activities. In this study, tanshinones rich extract of danshen roots, a typically valuable product of danshen, was prepared through a two-step process of extraction and purification. In which, adsorptive (non-ionic) macroporous resins were exploited in the purification step to remove impurities and enrich tanshinones. The obtained refined extract was red brownish dry powder with the following characteristics: loss on drying of 4.04 ± 0.18%, tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone content of 10.55 ± 0.21% and 5.78 ± 0.64%, respectively (the results met the requirements of the Tanshinones monograph in The Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2015). The overall yield of the established extraction process was 2.21 ± 0.12%, calculated by the weight of dry extract.
 Keywords: Tanshinones, danshen, macroporous resins, tanshinone IIA, cryptotanshinone.
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