Isolation of Ursolic Acid from Bruckenthalia Spiculifolia Followed by HPLC Analysis

Ursolic acid is a pentacyclic-terpenic compound that has numerous biological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, antiprotozoal, antimutagenic and anticancer properties. This study aims the optimization of the extraction procedure of ursolic acid from Bruckenthalia spiculifolia by maceration and ultrasonic irradiation and the optimization of high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) with photodiode array detector method used for the quantification of ursolic acid present in the extract. The influence of several extraction parameters, such as the concentration of extraction solvent, the ratio of liquid to vegetal material, the size of vegetal material, the extraction time and temperature were evaluated. The optimum extraction conditions proved to be for maceration 80% aqueous ethanol solution, a ratio of liquid to material of 20 : 1 (mL : g), the particle size between 125 - 1250 pm, process time of six days, temperature of 20 degrees C and for ultrasonic extraction 80 % aqueous ethanol solution, a ratio of liquid to material of 20 : 1 (mL:g), the particle size of 1250 mu m, at a temperature of 30 degrees C, for 30 min.