Extraction and separation of total flavonoids from Flos Puerariae and its antioxidant activity

Objective To study the optimum extraction and separation process of total flavonoids in the flowers of Flos Puerariae and its antioxidative activity.Methods The total flavonoids were extracted with assistance of ultrasonic wave and the content was determined at 265 nm wavelength by Spectrophotometric method.Orthogonal experiment L9(34)was carried out to investigate the effects of concentration of solvent,the ratio of material to liquid,time length of extraction,and frequency of extraction on extraction results of total flavonoids from Flos Puerariae.The extracted solution was purified by petroleum ether and ethanol sequently.Under these conditions,the total flavonoids was eluted gradiently with mixed mobile phase of methanol-chloroform solution in the silica gel column system,and then determined by UV scanning and HPLC.Fenton reaction was used to produce and detect hydroxyl radicals(·OH),and pyrogallol system was used to produce and detect the superoxide radical anion(O2-·).Results The optimum conditions were as follows;using 40%(V/V)methanol as extractor with the ratio of material to liquid at 1∶30,and extracting for 2.5 h a time for 3 times.The extraction yield of total flavonoids was 13.6%.Six isoflavone compounds were isolated from the flowers of Flos Puerariae by the method of silica gel column chromatography.Antioxidative test results showed good performance of flavonoid scavenging capacity in both hydroxyl radical system and superoxide radical system and its IC50 was 7.65 μg·mL-1 and 0.18 mg·mL-1,respectively.Conclusions This study provided scientific basis for further development and utilization of Flos Puerariae and make preparation for later pharmacological research.