Fractionation of Pharmacologically Active Plant Polyphenols by Centrifugal Partition Chromatography

Centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC) has been applied to the preparative fractionation of pharmacologically active polyphenols contained in the crude extracts from three medicinal plants. 1) (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate, the main component of tea polyphenols, which inhibits tumor promotion, 2) oligomeric hydrolyzable tannins, having host-mediated anti-tumor activity and antiviral activity, contained in Woodfordia fruticosa flower, 3) polyphenolic components of licorice, having anti-HIV activity. The results obtained with cartridges of medium volume and of small volume were compared during the fractionation of tea polyphenols.