Technology and Mechanism for Extracting Berberine from Rhizoma coptidis by Two Steps of Releasing and Inner Ebullition

A two-step method of releasing and inner ebullition was used to intensify the process of extracting berberine in the plant of Rhizoma coptidis. In this method,a little lower boiling point release-solvent was first used to saturate the plant so that the activated component inside the plant could be released adequately,and then the solvent in which temperature was higher than the lower boiling point was added rapidly,as a result,the release-solvent inside the plant was heated to boiling and the mass transfer was intensified. The experimental results of extracting berberine from Rhizoma coptidis showed that the two steps of extraction only needed 6 min,the concentration of berberine in the extract was 53.5% and the granule sizes between 160 and 400 μm did not take effect on the extraction. Compared with the traditional extraction methods,the two-step extraction of Rhizoma coptidis is not only more advantageous,but also more easily performed. It is expected to have a promising future in application.