Rhododendron sichotense Pojark. and Rhododendron adamsii Rheder have been actively used in ethnomedicine in Mongolia, China and Buryatia (Russia) for centuries, as an antioxidant, immunomodulating, anti-inflammatory, vitality-restoring agent. These plants contain various phenolic compounds and fatty acids with valuable biological activity. Among green and selective extraction methods, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction has been shown to be the method of choice for the recovery of these naturally occurring compounds. Operative parameters and working conditions have been optimized by experimenting with different pressures (300-400 bar), temperatures (50-60 °C) and CO2 flow rates (50 mL/min) with 1% ethanol as co-solvent. The extraction time varied from 60 to 70 min. A HPLC-UV-VIS-ESI-MS/MS technique was applied to detect target analytes. A total of 48 different biologically active components have been identified in the Rh. adamsii SC-CO2 extracts. A total of 31 different biologically active components have been identified in the Rh. sichotense SC-CO2 extracts.
Keywords: HPLC–MS/MS; Rhododendron adamsii; Rhododendron sichotense; phenolic compounds; supercritical fluid extraction.