Leaves of Yellow Gentian (Gentiana lutea) as an Alternative Source of Bitter Secoiridoid Glycosides

Abstract

In a search for methods of manufacturing bitter principles from Gentiana lutea, mainly represented by gentiopicroside (1) and amarogentin (2), as an alternative to extraction from the roots of this plant, in this short communication it is shown that the leaves of this plant can be regarded as an additional source of such phytochemicals. Extraction of G. lutea leaves was coupled to solid-phase adsorption by differently structured solids as a separation technology step, providing a selective isolation of both these secondary metabolites in good to excellent yields. Thus, the extraction of bitter secoiridoids can be achieved in an equivalent or improved way rather than processing the roots of G. lutea while preserving the biodiversity of the species.

Solid‐phase adsorption methodologies of naturally occurring anthraquinones: A review

“…37 LDHs are ideally biocompatible and have several industrial applications to produce a plethora of cosmetic, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical preparations. 38 During the last three years, lamellar solids have found extensive use in phytochemistry and have been shown to be tremendously efficient for the selective extraction of classes of plant secondary metabolites like flavonoids, catechins, alkaloids, 39 diarylheptanoids, 40 bitter secoiridoids, 41,42 capsaicinoids, 43 oxyprenylated coumarins, 44 tetraterpenes, 45 and anthocyans. 46 48 The pattern of adsorption was practically the same, allowing good to excellent recovery of anthraquinones (all or some) by using the same two sorbents mentioned above in addition to magnesium aluminum azelate, which also displayed good performance.…”