Isolation of tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone in salvia miltiorrhiza using two conventional extraction techniques and quantification by validated HPLC method

This study describes a simple, easy and inexpensive method for extracting tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone from Salvia miltiorrhiza by sonication or decoction. A comparison of sonication and decoction showed a similar yield for cryptotanshinone, while the tanshinone IIA yield was slightly higher using sonication. An analytical method for detecting tanshinone IIA and cryptotanshinone in extracts was developed and validated. Optimal conditions for separation and detection were achieved using a Grom Sil 120 ODS-5 ST column (250 X 4 mm, 5 μm) with an isocratic mixture of methanol:water (80:20) containing 0.5% acetic acid, at flow rate 0.5 ml/min, detected at 254 nm. The analysis run time was 25 min. The recovery of the method was >87% for cryptotanshinone and >92% for tanshinone IIA and both compounds showed good linearity (r ²> 0.9911).