Improvement of the Fractional Precipitation Process for the Purification of (+)-Dihydromyricetin

Abstract

Fractional precipitation is a simple method for purifying (+)-dihydromyricetin extracted from biomass. However, the fractional precipitation process has been inherently problematic due to the lengthy precipitation time that is required. The fractional precipitation time was shortened and (+)-dihydromyricetin yield was improved by increasing the surface area per working volume (S/V) of the reacting solution through the addition of a cation exchange resin (Amberlite 200, Amberlite IR 120Na, Amberlite IR 120H, or Amberlite IRC 50). Most of the (+)-dihydromyricetin (>90%) could be obtained after about 16 h of fractional precipitation using Amberlite 200. Since high-purity (+)-dihydromyricetin can be obtained at a high yield and the precipitation time can be reduced by increasing the surface area available for precipitation, this improved method is expected to minimize solvent usage and the size and complexity of the high performance liquid chromatography operation required for (+)-dihydromyricetin purification.