Improved extraction of the natural anticancerigen pristimerin from Mortonia greggii root bark using green solvents and aqueous two-phase systems

Optimized and Scalable Green Extraction of Pristimerin, an Anticancerigen from Mortonia greggii, by Ethanol–Phosphate Aqueous Two-Phase Systems

“…Even when the yield (i.e. 5.73 ± 0.49 mg of pristimerin/g of the plant) in the selected 70% (w/w) TLL and 0.33 V R ATPS is less than that obtained in previous reports that have used the same system at a 90% (w/w) TLL and 0.15 V R (i.e. 7.16 ± 0.09 mg of pristimerin/g of the plant), it was preferred to keep the parameters tested for further experiments since handling small volumes in the top or ethanol-rich phase is complicated and the compound might be lost during phase separation.…”

“…General Methodology for Ethanol−Phosphate ATPS Preparation and Extraction. All extractions described here using the direct ATPS were performed as described by Meji ́a-Manzano et al, 12 using absolute ethanol and a 50% (w/ w) pH 7.5 potassium phosphate stock solution (7:18, monobasic/dibasic salt). According to the total weight of the system and their total composition of ethanol and phosphates, the corresponding masses of the solutions were weighed, and ground M. greggii's root bark was added at a 3% (w/w) concentration to them.…”

“…In the case of purity, the optimized value of this work (41.88 ± 3.34 mg of pristimerin/g of extract) was compared with that in the previously reported ethanol−phosphate ATPS extraction (i.e. 12.82 ± 0.42 mg of pristimerin/g of extract), 12 and a significant and clear improvement in purity of approximately 3-fold can be observed.…”

“…29 The obtained K P value for the pristimerin standard in the ethanol−phosphate system was approximately half of the K P value reported for an octanol/water system which is estimated in 7.54. 12 This difference is evidently due to the nature of the involved phases. Comparison of the obtained K P in ethanol−phosphate systems with the literature is difficult because there is no evidence of previously reported K P values for other triterpenes in the ATPS.…”

“…Pristimerin is one of the natural triterpenes obtained from plants of Celastraceae family, and its anticancer activity has been tested in several studies. − Previous reports suggest that this triterpene can be extracted using an ethanol–phosphate ATPS with comparable yields and higher purity levels than those obtained in conventional solvent (e.g., hexane) extractions with the advantage of low technical requirements while reducing associated costs and risks related to the use of hazardous constituents. However, the industrial implementation of this process remains a challenge because of the lack of ATPS design parameter exploration that results in a nonstandardized and an industrially unaccepted process.…”