An Overview of Extraction Techniques

for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants

S.S. Handa

Senior specialist Industrial Utilization of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants,

ICS-UNIDO, Trieste, Italy

South East Asian Regional workshop on Extraction Technologies

for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants
Organised by

ICS-UNIDO, Area Science Park, Bldg L2, Padriciano 99,

Trieste 34012, Italy
in collaboration with

Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP),

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),
Lucknow, India
29 November-1 December 2006

ASIAS BIODIVERSITY RICHNESS

Six of the worlds 18 biodiversity

hot spots lie in Asia, Indonesia is

one of the worlds top two megabiodiversity centres alongside
Brazil

Eastern Himalaya
North Borneo
Peninsular Malaysia
Sri Lanka; Philippines
Western Ghats of South India

Species Endemism

?
SPECIES AND ENDEMICS

S. E. Asia
China- E. Asia
Indian subcontinent
S.W. Asia

50,000
45,000
25,000
23,000

40,000
18,650
12,000
7,100

90% of medicinal plants are

collected from forests

Species of higher plants

China
(30,000)
Myanmar (14,000)

Indonesia (20,000)
Malaysia (12,000)

Borneo (20,000) India (17,000)

Thailand (12,000)

Between 35,000 to 70,000 plant species are used for medicinal purposes in the world.

USE OF EXTRACTS - RATIONALE

Rt, Rtbk, St, Stbk, Lf, Fl, Fr, Frp, Frd, Sd, Wp
CELLULAR
MATERIAL

NON CELLULAR
MATERIAL
PRIMARY
METABOLITES

SECONDARY
METABOLITES

HOT EXTRACTION

STARCH
CARBOHYDRATES
POLYSACCHARIDES
AMINO ACIDS
ENZYMES

COLD EXTRACTION

DECOCTION

MACERATION

SOXHELT

PERCOLATION

50% AQ. ALC

MEDIUM
POLAR

ALCOHOLIC
NON
POLAR

AQUEOUS
POLAR

STEAM DISTILLATE

VOLATILE OIL
HYDROCARBON
ALCOHOL
ALDEHYDE
KETONE
ESTER

RESINS
Oleoresin
Oleo-gum
Balsam

LIPIDS
FIXED OILS
FATS
WAXES
Prostaglandins
Fatty Acids

GLYCOSIDES
ANTHRAQUINONE
SAPONIN
CYANOPHORE
ISOTHIOCYANATE
FLAVONOL
ALCOHOL
ALDEHYDE
LACTONE
PHENOL
TANNINS
ELLAGITANNIN
GALLITANNIN
ALKALOIDS
PYRIDINE
PIPERIDINE
TROPANE
QUINOLINE
INDOLE
IMIDAZOLE
STEROIDAL
AMINES
PURINES

STEROIDS
CARDIAC
BILE ACIDS
HORMONES

EXTRACTION OF MAPs
Extraction,
as
the
term
is
used
pharmaceutically, involves separation of
medicinally active portions of plant or animal
tissues from the inactive or inert components
by using selective solvents by appropriate
extraction technology. The products so
obtained are relatively impure liquids,
semisolids or powder intended only for oral or
external use.

PLANT
MATERIAL

Size of plant
material

nature of plant
material

nature of
solvent

origin of plant
material

SOLVENT

concentration
of solvent

degree of
processing

polarity of
solvent

moisture

extract
type
filling
height
time

hydrostatic
pressure

Flow
velocity
temperature

batch size
pressure

MANUFACTURING
METHOD

MANUFACTURING
EQUIPMENT

MACERATION

(for fluid extract)

a) Whole or coarsely powdered plant-drug is

kept in contact with the solvent in a stoppered
container for a defined period with frequent
agitation until soluble matter is dissolved
b) The mixture is strained, the marc pressed and
the combined liquid filtered.

PERCOLATION

(for tinctures and fluid extracts)

a.

Percolator (a narrow, cone shaped vessel open at both

ends) is used

b.

The powdered drug is moistened with an appropriate

amount of the specified menstruum and allowed to stand
for 4 h in well closed container

c.

The moistened mass loosely packed in percolator and

covered

d.

Additional menstruum added to give shallow layer above

the mass

e.

Allowed to macerate for 24 hour

f.

Outlet of the percolator opened and liquid allowed to

drip slowly

g.

Additional menstruum being added as required, until the

percolate measures about three quarter of the required
volume

h.

Marc is pressed, liquid added to the percolate and

sufficient menstruum added to the required volume and
filtered.

INFUSION
Infusion is dilute solution of the readily
soluble constituents of the crude drug
Fresh infusion is prepared by macerating
the drug for a short period of time with
cold or hot (boiling) water

DIGESTION
It is like maceration but gentle heat is
used during the process of extraction
It is employed when moderately
elevated temperature is not
objectionable as the solvent efficiency
is increased

DECOCTION
Powdered drug is boiled in specified volume
of water for defined time, cooled and
strained or filtered
Suitable for extracting water-soluble, heat
stable constituents
Most widely used process for Ayurved drugs
and is called Quath
Ratio of drug to water 1:4 or 1:16 which is
brought down to of its original volume by
boiling

HOT CONTINUOUS EXTRACTION (SOXHLET)

PROCESS
Finely powdered crude drug held in porous bag (thimble) placed in Chamber E
Extracting solvent in flask A heated
Vapours condensed in condenser D
Condensed solvent drips into the thimble containing drug, extracting it by
contact
As the level of the liquid in chamber E rises to the top of the siphon tube C, the
liquid contents of E siphon into flask A
The process is continued until a drop of solvent from the siphon tube, when
evaporated, does not leave a residue.
ADVANTAGES
Large amount of drug can be extracted with much smaller quantity of solvent
Tremendous economy in terms of time,energy & ultimately financial inputs
Small scale used a batch-process
Becomes more economical when converted into continuous extraction
procedure on large scale.

AQUEOUS ALCOHOLIC EXTRACTION BY FERMENTATION

Soaking of the drugs, either in powder form or dried aqueous

ext. Kasaya for defined period of time, during which it
undergoes fermentation generating alcohol in situ, thus
facilitating extraction of active constituents contained in the
drugs.
Alcohol thus generated, also serves as preservative
Fermentation is done in earthen vessels or porcelain jars/steel
tanks
Process is employed in Ayurveda for producing classical
preparation Asavas and Arishta
With the advancement of fermentation technology, this process
needs to be standardized

COUNTER CURRENT EXTRACTION (CCE)

Raw material in wet condition is pulverised using toothed
disc disintegrators to produce fine slurry.
Slurry is moved in one direction within a cylindrical
extractor where it comes in contact with the extracting
solvent falling against it.
The further the starting material moves, more
concentrated becomes the extract
Complete extraction possible with optimization of
quantities of solvent and the material and their flow rates
Process is efficient requiring least time with no risk of
high temperature

ULTRASOUND EXTRACTION (SONICATION)

Use of ultrasound with frequencies ranging from 20
KHz to 2000 KHz increases permeability of cell
wall to produce cavitation
Powdered crude drug is sonicated with an
appropriate solvent to extract out solvent soluble
components (e.g. Rawolfia serpentina extract)
? Deleterious effect of ultrasound energy (more than
20,000 Hz) on the active constituents of the
medicinal plant through formation of free radicals
and consequently in the drug molecules.

10

SUPERCRITICAL FLUID EXTRACTION

The critical point of a pure substance is defined as the highest pressure and
temperature at which it exists in vapour-liquid equilibrium
At pressure and temperature above this point, single homogenous fluid
which forms is said to be supercritical
A substance in supercritical phase is neither a true liquid nor a true gas and
has some properties of each
Supercritical fluids can dissolve wide variety of organic compounds and
their solvent power can be raised near their critical points by small pressure
and temperature changes
At high temperature and low pressure, the density is low and the
supercritical fluid behaves more like a gas. But at low temperature and
high pressure, the density is increase and it assumes the properties of a
liquid
Supercritical carbondioxide (sCo2) is considered to exist at pressure above
73.8 bar (or atm.) and temp. above 31.20C

SUPERCRITICAL FLUID EXTRACTION (process)

Powdered drug kept in the extractor
CO2 under high pressure passing
through preheater enters the extrator,
passes through the drug
Reduction valve (back pressure
regulator) helps entry of the extracted
material into the separator
Reduction in pressure converts the
liquid into CO2 gas which through
condenser enters the CO2 reservior
from where, it is recycled
The extract is taken out of the
separator

11

Authentication
Radioactive
Contaminants

Foreign Matter
Organoleptic
Evaluation

Microbial Count
Pesticide
Residue

STANDARDIZATION
OF PLANT DRUGS

Volatile
Matter

Marker
Component
Chromatographic
Profile

Macroscopy &
Microscopy

Ash Value
Extractive Value

Authentication and Standardization of Herbal Raw Material

12

Batch uniformity and GMP compliance

Pre-requisites
Uniform quality of raw material
Consistency of extraction solvent, process &
equipment

Methods to ensure batch uniformity

Mixing of lots with different DER, check internal
composition before mixing
Liquid extracts adjusted by concentration or dilution
Dried extracts by addition of inert diluents

Standardization of extracts
First choice for total composition, finger print
profile
Second choice for maximum number of known
active constituents
Third choice for one major active constituent
Fourth choice for inactive marker
DER only to supplement the analysis, but not as
a sole parameter

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CONCLUSION
How efficiently we have extracted
the active components of a plant?

The process
determines

of

extraction

Medicinal Plants
Variation of constituents in
extracts can result from nonstandardized process of extraction
Aromatic Plants

Produce batches with quality as

consistent as possible
(within
narrowest possible range)

Extraction
process
affects
physical as well as internal
composition of essential oils

Essential oils are evaluated by

their olfactory response in the
hands of experienced perfumers,
which supersedes its analytical
results.

External appearance can result in

rejection of the batch even if
analytical results are within
acceptable limits

USE OF MOST APPROPRIATE EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY

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