Supercritical Fluid Extraction of Beta-ecdysone from Brazilian Ginseng (Pfaffia glomerata) Roots

Ecdysteroids have been found in a variety of plants and have several valuable biological properties. Beta-ecdysone is the major biologically active ecdysteroid that can be isolated from Pfaffia glomerata roots. Pfaffia glomerata is a medicinal plant known in Brazil as "Brazilian ginseng," and this plant has been used as a substitute for "Asian" ginseng due their similar morphologies and bioactive properties. In this work, supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) using carbon dioxide (CO2) was used to obtain beta-ecdysone-rich extracts from Brazilian ginseng roots. The effects of pressure (20 and 30 MPa) and cosolvent amount (10, 15, 75 and 90% of Ethanol, EtOH) on the behavior of the overall extraction curve (OEC) and beta-ecdysone content were studied. Larger amounts of beta-ecdysone were obtained in shorter processing times using CO2: EtOH (85:15, v/v) as the extracting solvent at 20 MPa. Higher amounts of EtOH in the solvent mixture leads to increased extraction yield as well as increased beta-ecdysone content.