Preparative Isolation and Purification of Alkaloids from Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang by High Speed Counter‐Current Chromatography

Abstract

Four alkaloids including dehydrocorydaline, palmatine, coptisine, and columbamine were successfully isolated from the total alkaloids of Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang using a stepwise elution by high speed counter‐current chromatography (HSCCC). A pair of two‐phase solvent systems consisting of carbon tetrachloride–trichloromethane–methanol–0.2 mol/L hydrochloric acid (1∶7∶3∶4, v/v/v/v) and trichloromethane–methanol–0.2 mol/L hydrochloric acid (7∶3∶4, v/v/v) was successively used, which yielded four relatively pure alkaloids from 200 mg of the total alkaloids in a single run. The purities of dehydrocorydaline, palmatine, coptisine, and columbamine were 99.1, 97.1, 99.7, and 94.9%, respectively. The structures were identified by ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR.

Keywords:

• Counter‐current chromatography
• Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang
• Dehydrocorydaline
• Palmatine
• Coptisine
• Columbamine

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to Ms. Liuqing Sheng for excellent technical assistance or help in the research work and also to Ms. Yaping Lv for the kind supply of the reference compound of coptisine.