Efficient separation of curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and bisdemethoxycurcumin from turmeric using supercritical fluid chromatography: From analytical to preparative scale.

Curcumin is the major constituent of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.). It has attracted widespread attention for its anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities. The separation of curcumin and its two close analogs, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin, has been challenging by conventional techniques. In this study, an environmentally friendly method based on supercritical fluid chromatography was established for the rapid and facile separation of the three curcuminoids directly from the methanol extract of turmeric. The method was first developed and optimized by ultra performance convergence chromatography, and was then scaled up to preparative supercritical fluid chromatography. Eluted with supercritical fluid CO2 containing 8-15% methanol (containing 10 mM oxalic acid) at a flow rate of 80 mL/min, curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin could be well separated on a Viridis BEH OBD column (Waters, 250 mm × 19 mm, 5 μm) within 6.5 min. As a result, 20.8 mg of curcumin (97.9% purity), 7.0 mg of demethoxycurcumin (91.1%), and 4.6 mg of bisdemethoxycurcumin (94.8%) were obtained after a single step of supercritical fluid chromatography separation with a mean recovery of 76.6%. Showing obvious advantages in low solvent consumption, large sample loading, and easy solvent removal, supercritical fluid chromatography was proved to be a superior technique for the efficient separation of natural products.