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Optimisation of artemisinin and scopoletin extraction from Artemisia annua with a new modern pressurised cyclic solid–liquid (PCSL) extraction technique
Author(s) -
Zarrelli Armando,
Pollio Antonino,
Aceto Serena,
Romanucci Valeria,
Carella Francesca,
Stefani Paolo,
De Natale Antonino,
De Vico Gionata
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
phytochemical analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1099-1565
pISSN - 0958-0344
DOI - 10.1002/pca.2853
Subject(s) - artemisia annua , artemisinin , scopoletin , chemistry , traditional medicine , extraction (chemistry) , tincture (heraldry) , extractor , chromatography , yield (engineering) , process engineering , plasmodium falciparum , malaria , biology , medicine , materials science , alternative medicine , pathology , metallurgy , engineering , immunology
Artemisia annua is a small herbaceous plant belonging to the Asteraceae family declared therapeutic by the World Health Organisation, in particular for its artemisinin content, an active ingredient at the base of most antimalarial treatments, used every year by over 300 million people. In the last years, owing to low artemisinin content, research of new ways to increase the yield of the plant matrix has led to the use of the total extract taking advantage from the synergic and stabilising effects of the other components. Objective In this work we evaluated and compared the content of artemisinin and scopoletin in extracts of A. annua collected in the Campania Region (southern Italy), by two different extraction processes. Methodology Artemisia annua plants were extracted by traditional maceration (TM) in hydroalcoholic solution as a mother tincture prepared according to the European Pharmacopeia and by pressurised cyclic solid–liquid (PCSL) extraction, a new generation method using the Naviglio extractor. Results The results showed that the PCSL extraction technique is more effective than traditional methods in extracting both phytochemicals, up to 15 times more, reducing the extraction times, without using solvents or having risks for the operators, the environment and the users of the extracts. Conclusion The Naviglio extractor provides extracts with an artemisinin and scopoletin content eight times higher than the daily therapeutic dose, which should be evaluated for its stability over time and biological properties for possible direct use for therapeutic purposes.