Purification of Paclobutrazol-Free Steroidal Saponins and Flavonoids from the Fibrous Roots of Ophiopogon japonicas

Abstract

In the current study, a convenient approach was developed to isolate and purify active ingredients, including total steroidal saponins and total flavonoids, while simultaneously removing the toxic component - paclobutrazol - from the fibrous root of Ophiopogon japonicas. The separation performance of eight macroporous resins (D101, AB-8, DM301, DA201, H103, HPD100, D3520, and HP20) were evaluated using static and dynamic experimentation. The results showed that the D101 resin had the optimal capacity of adsorption and desorption to total steroidal saponins and total flavonoids. The static adsorption of D101 resins to total steroidal saponins and total flavonoids conformed to the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Under optimal purification parameters, the recovery rates of total steroidal saponins and total flavonoids were 86.49% and 87.89%, respectively. The total steroidal saponins and total flavonoids's purities increased from 16.67% to 47.58%, and from 3.82% to 12.29%, respectively. Furthermore, paclobutrazol's content decreased from 16.902mg/kg to 1.106mg/kg with a removal rate of 93.45%.