Abstract

Application of cationic surfactant in the microwave-assisted extraction of alkaloids from Rhizoma Coptidis

Author(s): Xubiao Luo, Xinman Tu, Weipin Xiao, Shenglian Luo

The feasibility of employing cationic surfactant cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) as an alternative and effective solvent for the microwaveassisted extraction of alkaloids from Rhizoma Coptidis was demonstrated. When compared with anionic and nonionic surfactant solvents, CTAB enhanced the extraction efficiency. The optimal extraction parameters based on themicrowave-assisted micellar extraction technique were investigated. Under optimal conditions, i.e. 0.468 g/LCTAB,microwave-assisted extraction for 11 min at 70C the extraction recovery of seven alkaloids reached over 91.6%in a one-step extraction. Furthermore, the combination ofmicrowave- assisted extraction and cationic surfactant micellar extraction was shown to be a green, rapid and effective approach for alkaloids of Rhizoma Coptidis samples.