Further applications of "home made" SFE systems. I. Brazilian medicinal plants. In this paper, an overview on the evolution of the utilization of SFE for the analysis of Brazilian medicinal plants in the research developed by the Laboratório de Cromatografia, IQSC-USP, is presented. CO2, pure or with modifiers from low to high polarity (pentane, halogenated solvents, alcohols, water) were used for the selective extraction of active compounds. Maytenus aquifolium (known popularly in Brazil as" espinheira santa"), and Mikania glomerata ("guaco"), containing respectively triterpenes and coumarin, were studied. The extracts obtained by SFE showed similar or better results than of those extracts obtained by conventional extraction methods (Soxhlet, maceration, etc.), which indicates the potential of SFE technique in the analysis and/or production of phytomedicines.
SFE (supercritical fluid extraction); medicinal plants; HRGC (high resolution gas chromatography); HPLC-DAD (high performance liquid chromatography - photodiodearray detector; TLC (thin layer chromatography)
