A novel process for preparing pure chenodeoxycholic acid from poultry bile

Macroporous adsorption by column chromatography was introduced into chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) separation from duck bile in this study. After bile saponification in 2.5 M NaOH for 6 h and conversion of CDCA calcium salt with Na2CO3, CDCA was purified by the hydrophobic chromatography with macroporous resin HZ-802. With 40% ethanol as loading solvent and 50% and 60% ethanol as stage elution solvents, high purity of CDCA was obtained, and its melting point could be achieved 160–170 °C (99% purity) after crystallization by 65–70 °C water bath cultivation. The novel process was environmentally friendly and economical compared to conventional method, and it has been successfully scaled up in industry.