pH-Zone-refining counter-current chromatography of lappaconitine from Aconitum sinomontanum Nakai: I. Separation of prepurified extract

pH-Zone-refining counter-current chromatography was applied to the separation of diterpenoid alkaloids from a crude sample from a crude prepurified sample containing lappaconitine at about 90% purity using a multilayer coil planet centrifuge. The experiment was performed with a two-phase solvent system composed of methyl tert.-butyl ether–tetrahydrofuran–distilled water (2:2:3, v/v) where triethylamine (10 mM) was added to the upper organic stationary phase as a retainer and hydrochloric acid (10 mM) to the aqueous mobile phase as an eluter. The separation of 10.5 g of the sample yielded 9.0 g of lappaconitine at a high purity of over 99% as determined by HPLC.