Isolation and preparation of cordycepin from Cordyceps militaris fermentation broth by high speed counter-current chromatography / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To develop a new method for the isolation and preparation of cordycepin by high speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with Cordyceps militaris fermentation broth as raw material. Methods: The solvent systems for cordycepin separation were assessed and selected by HPLC partition coefficient method and analytical HSCCC. A solvent system that consisted of ethyl acetate-n-butanol-0.5% ammonia water (235) was applied to the separation. The upper phase was used as the stationary phase, while the lower phase was used as the mobile phase for the cordycepin separation by HSCCC. Results: A high efficiency of HSCCC separation was achieved. Finally, cordycepin (43.8 mg) was obtained from 400 mg crude extract of C. militaris fermentation broth in one-step separation with a purity of 98.7%. Conclusion: HSCCC is an efficient and simple method for the large- scale preparation of cordycepin from C. militaris fermentation broth.