Isolation of a novel flavanone 6-glucoside from the flowers of Carthamus tinctorium (Honghua) by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

A novel flavanone glycoside, (2S)-4',5,6,7-tetrahydroxyflavavone 6-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside was isolated from the ethyl acetate extract of the flowers of Carthamus tinctorium by high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC). Using an optimized two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-methanol-water (5:1:5, v/v), target compound (52 mg) with purity of 98.0% was obtained from 2.0 g of sample by HSCCC in seven times run. The structure of the target compound was elucidated by means of spectroscopic methods including IR, MS, 1D and 2D NMR techniques.