Cascade extraction and separation of the active constituents from Jatropha curcas L. seeds

Abstract

A new method of cascade extraction and separation of active constituents from Jatropha curcas L. seeds was designed to explore the multi-utilization of Jatropha oil cake. Effort has been devoted to convert the Jatropha oil cake into high value-added products. The Jatropha oil was extracted by an ultrasonic method and other active constituents were prepared by means of flash extraction and resin chromatography etc.; the Jatropha oil was analyzed by GC-MS and the contents of the active constituents were determined by UV spectrophotometry. The yields of Jatropha oil and the active constituents were as follows, Jatropha oil 37.42 g/100 g dry seeds, polysaccharide 0.46 g/100 g dry seeds (purity 75.72%), protein 2.06 g/100 g dry seeds (purity 72.61%), respectively. Furthermore, the contents of flavone was 0.90 g/100 g dry seeds, phytosterol was 0.50 g/100 g dry seeds, anthocyanin was 0.12 g/100 g dry seeds and alkaloids was 1.90 g/100 g dry seeds. Additionally, the molecular weight and antioxidant activity of polysaccharides from Jatropha curcas L. seeds were also evaluated.