Combined microwave-assisted extraction and high-speed counter-current chromatography for separation and purification of xanthones from Garcinia mangostana

A microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) method is presented for the extraction of xanthones, α-mangostin and γ-mangostin from Garcinia mangostana. The MAE conditions including extraction temperature, liquid/solid ratio, extraction time and concentration of ethanol were optimized with an orthogonal test, and 5 g sample was extracted with the optimized conditions. The crude extraction of MAE was successfully isolated and purified by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with a two-phase solvent system composed of petroleum ether–ethyl acetate–methanol–water (0.8:0.8:1:0.6, v/v) in one-step separation. The separation yielded 75 mg of α-mangostin at 98.5% purity, and 16 mg of γ-mangostin at 98.1% purity from 360 mg crude extract of G. mangostana in less than 7 h. The purity of the two xanthones was determined by HPLC. Their structures were further identified by ESI-MS, 1H NMR and 13C NMR.

► MAE was applied for the extraction of xanthones from Garcinia mangostana.
► Two xanthones was isolated by HSCCC in one-step separation from MAE extraction.
► MAE coupled with HSCCC is an efficient method for the separation of xanthones.