ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To prepare puerarin deoxycholate/phospholipid mixed micelle to increase the solubility of puerarin.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>Sodium deoxycholate and soybean phospholipids were used to prepare puerarin mixed micelle through orthogonal design experiments. With the solubility, shape and particle size as the response indexes, the preparing process of puerarin mixed micelle was optimized.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>The optimized process for the puerarin deoxycholate/phospholipid mixed micelle was that the puerarin, soya phosphatidylcholine and sodium deoxycholate with the mole ratio of 3:2:4 should be dissolved in methanol-chloroform (1:1), and the solvents should be evaporated rotatively at 30 degrees C. The particle diameter of the mixed micelle was (64.8 +/- 13) nm (volume-weighted particle size distribution), and the solubility was 0.811 1 g x L(-1) in water at the room temperature, which was 22.3 times as that of the raw puerarin (0.036 4 g x L-1).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The puerarin deoxycholate/phospholipid mixed micelle can improve the solubility of puerarin significantly.</p>