Study on separation and purification process of total alkaloids from Zanthoxylum nitidum by cation exchange resin

Objective In order to obtain the optimal conditions for separating the alkaloids from the extract of Zanthoxylum nitidum by selecting appropriate cation exchange resins.Method Four types of cation exchange resin were evaluated in separating efficiency with measuring the adsorption ratio and eluting ratio of total alkaloids as indexes,and the content of total alkaloids from Zanthoxylum nitidum was determined as an index by spectrophotometry to choose optimal technological parameters.Result The Ls006 cation exchange resin showed the best separating efficiency.Each gram of Ls006 cation exchange resin could absorb 32.90 mg of the total alkaloids,and the desorption ratio was 94.78%.After enrichment and purification,the yielding rate of the alkaloids was 47.17%,and the content of nitidine chloride in the crystamzation from mother liquor was 89.07%,the yield of Nitidine chloride was over 50%.Conclusion The Ls006 cation exchange resin can be used for purificating total alkaloids from Radix of Zanthoxylum nitidum,and the established procedure is simple and feasible.