Extraction and preparative purification of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge by high-speed counter-current chromatography

A method for extraction and preparative separation of tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge was successfully established in this paper. Tanshinones from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge were extracted using ethyl acetate as the extractant under reflux. The extracts were then purified by high speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with light petroleum–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (6:4:6.5:3.5, v/v) as the two phase solvent system. The upper phase was used as the stationary phase and the lower phase as the mobile phase. 8.2 mg of dihydrotanshinone I, 5.8 mg of 1,2,15,16-tetrahydrotanshiquinone, 26.3 mg of cryptotanshinone, 16.2 mg of tanshinone I, 25.6 mg of neo-przewaquinone A, 68.8 mg of tanshinone IIA and 9.3 mg of miltirone were obtained from 400 mg of extracts from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge in one-step HSCCC separation, with the purity of 97. 6%, 95.1%, 99.0%, 99.1%, 93.2%, 99.3% and 98.7%, respectively, as determined by HPLC area normalization method. Their chemical structures were identified by 1H NMR.