Application of accelerated solvent extraction coupled with high-performance counter-current chromatography to extraction and online isolation of chemical constituents from Hypericum perforatum L.

Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) coupled with high-performance counter-current chromatography (HPCCC) was successfully used for the extraction and online isolation of five chemical constituents from the plant Hypericum perforatum L. The upper phase of the solvent system of ethyl acetate–methanol–water (5:2:5, v:v:v) was used as both the ASE solvent and the HPCCC stationary phase. Two hydrophobic compounds including 28.4 mg of hyperforin with a HPLC purity of 97.28% and 32.7 mg of adhyperforin with a HPLC purity of 97.81% were isolated. The lower phase of ethyl acetate–methanol–n-butanol–water (5:2:2.5:12, v:v:v:v) was used as both the ASE solvent and CCC stationary phase. Three hydrophilic compounds of 12.7 mg of 3,4,5-O-tricaffeoylquinic acid with a HPLC purity of 98.82%, 15.2 mg of 1,3,5-O-tricaffeoylquinic acid with a HPLC purity of 99.46% and 42.5 mg of 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid with a HPLC purity of 96.90%, were obtained in a one-step extraction–separation process with less than 3 h from 10.02 g of raw material of H. perforatum. The targeted compounds isolated, collected and purified by HPCCC were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the chemical structures of all five compounds above mentioned were identified by UV, MS and NMR.