Objective: To explore the optimal supercritical-CO2 fluid extraction technique of extracting tanshinones in Radix salviae.
Method: The contents of tanshinones were determined by HPLC. Choosing the overall contents of 3 tanshinones as inspecting marker and uniform-design as method, the experimentation was carried out to study the main factors that influence the result of extraction.
Result: Among all the 5 inspected factors, the amount of entrainer was most notable. The optimal technique of extraction was: extraction pressure at 30 MPa; extraction temperature at 40 degrees C; separation pressure of separating kettle I at 6 MPa; separation temperature of separating kettle I at 50 degrees C; the amount of entrainer at 10%.
Conclusion: Adopting supercritical-CO2 fluid extraction method to extract the tanshinones in Radix salviae was feasible. The contents of tanshinones in the extract were high and the manipulation was simple, convenient and time saving.