Enrichment of polymethoxyflavones from Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' peels and their hypolipidemic effect.

In the present study, a simple and efficient method based on orthogonal experimental design and macroporous resin chromatography was established for the first time for enrichment of polymethoxyflavones (PMFs) from the peels of Citrus reticulata 'Chachi' (CRC). The optimum conditions of extraction and enrichment process were as follows: use of a liquid to solid ratio of 1 to 14, two-hour extraction time repeated twice with 70% ethanol; use of HPD-450 macroporous resin, wash solvent of purified water and 25% aqueous ethanol, and 70% aqueous ethanol as desorption solvent. The purity of PMFs in the resulting extract reached 62.26%. Our data indicate that the PMFs purified could potently alleviate high-fat diet-induced hyperlipidaemia. The PMFs were nontoxic as determined by acute toxicity test. The method established was suitable for large-scale separation of PMFs from CRC peels and the PMFs might be developed as an anti-hyperlipidaemia agent or dietary supplement.