Preparative separation of glycoalkaloids alpha-solanine and alpha-chaconine by centrifugal partition chromatography

The main glycoalkaloids of a commercial potato cultivar, alpha-chaconine and alpha-solanine, were extracted from sprouts of Solanum tuberosum cv. Pompadour by a mixture of MeOH/H2O/CH3COOH (400/100/50, v/v/v). In these conditions, 2.8 +/- 0.62 g of crude extract were obtained from 50g of fresh sprouts and the total glycoalkaloid content was determined by analytical HPLC at 216.5 mg/100 g. alpha-Chaconine and alpha-solanine were separated in a preparative scale using centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC). In a solvent system composed of a mixture of ethyl acetate/butanol/water (15/35/50, v/v/v), alpha-chaconine (54 mg) and alpha-solanine (15 mg) were successfully isolated from the crude extract in one step of purification. The purity of isolated compounds was determined to be higher than 92% by HPLC analysis. (C) 2012 Elsevier By. All rights reserved.