Phcog.Net logo
Submit

BROWSE ALL JOURNALS

    SEE ALL 6 JOURNALS
    Pharmacognosy MagazineNOW IN
    Article

    A novel approach for the efficient extraction of silybin from milk thistle fruits

    Caihong Tan1, Xianrong Xu1, Yaqi Shang2, Xianli Fu1, Guohua Xia2★, Huan Yang2★ Corresponding author

    1. 1Department of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, China.
    2. 2Department of Chinese Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, China.

    CORRESPONDENCE

    Guohua Xia

    Department of Chinese Materia Medica, School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu University, China.

    yanghuan1980@ujs.edu.cn

    Received: 01-12-2013; Revised: 06-03-2014.

    Volume 10, Issue 40 · pp. 536–540 · PUBLISHED 26 September 2014 · DOI: 10.4103/0973-1296.141799

    View on Pharmacogn. Mag. original site ↗

    ABSTRACT

    Background: Milk Thistle fruit is an important herb popularly consumed worldwide for a very long time. Silybin is the main bioactive constituent of the herb, and it has been approved by US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a medicine to treat liver diseases. Presently, using conventional technology, the meal of Milk Thistle fruit is used as the raw material to extract silybin. Objective: To investigate the necessity of detaching husk from kernel of the herb and also to propose a novel approach to enhance the extraction technology in pharmaceutical practices. Materials and Methods: The husk of Milk Thistle fruit was detached from the kernel of the herb using an automatic huller specially designed for this application. The husk and the meal of Milk Thistle fruit was subsequently refluxed, separately, with production rate of silybin as index for comparison of their extraction effect. Results: The highest production rate was achieved under optimized condition. The husk was extracted 2 times (3 hrs each) using ethyl acetate, and the ratio of solvent to raw material was 8:1. The extract was allowed to be crystallized out. Conclusion: The separation of kernel from the husk of Milk Thistle fruit and using only the husk as raw material can largely enhance the extraction of silybin.

    KEYWORDS

    Open in new tab

    REFERENCES

    As published

    Showing references and in-text citations exactly as published.

      Cite this article

      SELECT FORMAT

      Tan, C., Xu, X., Shang, Y., Fu, X., Xia, G., & Yang, H. (2014). A novel approach for the efficient extraction of silybin from milk thistle fruits. Pharmacognosy Magazine, 10(40), 536–540. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-1296.141799