Chemoenzymatic preparative separation of silybins A and B

Robust and scalable chemoenzymatic procedure for obtaining gram amounts of pure silybin A and B within one week is described. It consists of the preparation of 23-O-β-pentaacetyl-galactopyranosides of silybin, their separation by silica gel chromatography, deprotection, and enzymatic sugar removal with β-galactosidase.