Process for the production of extracts from medicinal plants

摘要

Supercritical carbon dioxide is used as solvent for extracting lipophilic active components from plant materials. Preparation of active herbal extracts from plant materials, containing polar or potentially polar components as well as lipophilic active agents, is effected using liquid carbon dioxide under supercritical conditions as extraction solvent in which the lipophilic components are more soluble than the polar components. Independent claims relate to: (1) a herbal drug composition consisting at least partly of (or derived from) an extract of Petasites hybridus obtained by the above process; (2) apparatus for the process, consisting of at least one pressure-resistant extraction vessel which is supplied with supercritical CO2 and from which a stream of liquid CO2 containing the extract is removed, where at least one zone for treating the extract-containing liquid CO2 with adsorbent is provided in the extraction vessel and/or in a separate pressure vessel located downstream.