Abstract
Timosaponin AIII (TAIII) exhibits extensive pharmacological activities and has been reported as a potent antitumour agent for various human cancers. In the present study, a potential industrial process for producing TAIII that involves biotransformation directly in the crude extract liquid of rhizoma anemarrhenae (RA) was developed. β-D-glycosidase was used to transform timosaponin BII (TBII) into TAIII, and monofactor experiments were conducted to optimise the enzymolysis conditions. In addition, AB-8 macroporous resin column chromatography, preparative liquid chromatography, and crystallisation technique were applied for yielding TAIII crystals with a purity > 97%. Approximately, 7 g of TAIII with a high purity of > 97% was obtained from 1 kg of RA through this five-step preparation method, which can be used to produce TAIII on a large scale.
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Funding
This work was supported by the programmes of the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 81173561], [grant number 81274200], [grant number 81403175]; Youth Talent Sail Plan from Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology [grant number 14YF1411300]; Project from Shanghai Municipal Commission of Health and Family planning [grant number 20134Y053]; Project from Shanghai Committee of Science and Technology [grant number 13401900301].