Synthesis, Purification, and Activity of Salidroside

Abstract

Our goal was to synthesise this compound by glucosylation of p‐tyrosol. The 74% yield of the reaction was not satisfactory and instead of optimising the procedure, we preferred to purify the product. This was achieved by high performance centrifugal partition chromatography with an optimised biphasic system followed by a solid phase extraction on a graphitic stationary phase. The final product was found to be pure at 95%. The structure of salidroside was confirmed by both NMR and ESIMS². Each ¹³C NMR, ¹H NMR, and ESIMS² signals were attributed to the salidroside structure. The last step of this work was to assess the biological activity of the synthetic salidroside. It was found to be more biologically active than ginsenoside Rb1 on the ATP production rate of keratinocytes.

Keywords:

• Rhodiola
• Synthesis
• Purification
• Salidroside
• HPCPC
• Porous graphitic carbon

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Pr M. Paris for his contribution of his knowledge of the Rhodiola plant and to Dr G. Herbette of the Spectropole (University of Aix‐Marseille) for the NMR expertise.