RAPID SEPARATION OF FLAVONOIDS FROM HYDROLYSIS PRODUCTS OF Epimedium koreanum.

A successful method of preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was established for direct isolation and purification of hydrolysis products ofEpimedium koreanumNakai to obtain the secondary glycosides and aglycons of flavonoids inE. koreanum. The two-phase solvent systems of HSCCC composed n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water at the ratios of 6:3.5:6:5 (v/v) and 6:3.5:8:5 (v/v) were used in a stepwise elution. Totally, 60.1 mg of FractionIthat would be isolated and purified by preparative HPLC, 9.4 mg of icartin (4), 3.5 mg of desmethylicartin (5), 4.7 mg of 3′′-ethyoxyl-icartin (6), 7.3 mg of anhydroicaritin (7), and 10.1 mg of β-anhydroicaritin (8) were obtained in one-step separation from 100 mg of the crude materials with purities of 97.7%, 96.2%, 99.2%, 99.5%, and 91.0%, respectively. And FractionIof HSCCC was purified by the preparative HPLC to obtain 12.7 mg of pletypetaloside (I-1), 6.8 mg of icariside I (I-2) and 16.3 mg of 3′′-ethyoxyl-pletypetaloside (I-3) with purities of 90.8%, 93.4%, and 99.2%. All of the chemical structures were identified on the basis of widely spectral technology including 2D-NMR. Among them, compoundsI-3and6are novel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]