Analysis with gas chromatography and mass spectrography of volatile components of Ligusticum wallichii Franch extracted by CO2 supercritical fluid extraction in combination with molecular distillation.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the possibility of using the technique of CO2 supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) combined with molecular distillation (MD) to extract, separate and purify the volatile components of Ligusticum wallichii Franch, a Chinese herbal medicine.

METHODS

SFE was employed to extract the volatile components of Ligusticum wallichii Franch, followed by MD of the product. Analysis of the chemical constituents of the extract both before and after MD was performed with gas chromatography (GC) in conjunction with mass spectrography (MS).

RESULTS

There were 45 kinds of chemical constituents in the extract of Ligusticum wallichii Franch yielded from SFE, among which 39 were left after distillation by MD. Changes also took place in the content of the constituents in the extract after distillation.

CONCLUSIONS

SFE combined with MD, a technique better than simple SFE, can be used to extract, separate and purify the volatile components of Chinese herbs.