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Extraction and purification of anthraquinones derivatives from Aloe vera L. using alcohol/salt aqueous two-phase system

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Abstract

An alcohol/salt aqueous two-phase system (ATPS) composed of 1-propanol and (NH4)2SO4 was employed to purify anthraquinones (AQs) extracted from Aloe vera L. The main influencing system parameters such as type of alcohol, type and concentration of salt, temperature and pH were investigated in detail. Under the optimal extraction conditions, AQs can be extracted into alcohol-rich phase with high extraction efficiency, meanwhile majority polysaccharides, proteins, mineral substances and other impurities were extracted into salt-rich phase. Partitioning of AQs is dependent on hydrophobic interaction, hydrogen bond interaction, and salting-out effect in ATPS. Temperature also played a great role in the partitioning. After ATPS extraction, alcohol can be recycled by evaporation; moreover, salt can be recycled by dilution crystallization method. Compared with other liquid–liquid extractions, this alcohol/salt system is much simpler, lower in cost with easier recovery of phase-forming components, which has the potential scale-up in down-processing of active ingredients in plant.

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Abbreviations

ATPS:

Aqueous two-phase system

Anthraquinones:

AQs

Triton X-114:

Octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol

PEG:

Polyethylene glycol

MW:

Molecular weight

rpm:

Revolutions per minute

UPLC:

Ultra performance liquid chromatography

B-R buffer:

Britton-Robinson buffer

R :

Phase ratio

K d :

Partition coefficient

E :

Extraction efficiency

ΔG :

Gibbs energy change

ΔH :

Enthalpy change

ΔS :

Entropy change

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 20956001), Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate (Project No. CX2011B083), and Plan Project of Changsha Science and Technology Bureau (Project No. K1104026-11).

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Correspondence to Zhi-jian Tan.

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Tan, Zj., Li, Ff. & Xu, Xl. Extraction and purification of anthraquinones derivatives from Aloe vera L. using alcohol/salt aqueous two-phase system. Bioprocess Biosyst Eng 36, 1105–1113 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-012-0864-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00449-012-0864-4

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