Flash chromatography on cartridges for the separation of plant extracts: rules for the selection of chromatographic conditions and comparison with medium pressure liquid chromatography.

Empirical rules for the selection of chromatographic conditions on flash chromatography cartridges were developed, with an emphasis on gradient mode. These rules were then tested with separation of extracts from important medicinal plants including Curcuma xanthorrhiza, Piper nigrum and Salvia milthiorrhiza. Sepacore® cartridges enabled a good separation of compounds with a broad range of polarity, as typically found in plant extracts. The chromatographic resolution remained, however, lower than that achieved on classical columns packed with material of smaller particle size. For poorly soluble extracts, solid introduction gave better results than liquid injection.