Compiled By
R. H. Mishal
Asst. Professor
Sir. Dr. M. S. Gosavi College of Pharmaceutical
Education & Research, Nashik.

 Although, the various classes of preparations involving simple expression, aqueous
hot and cold extraction and evaporation were in vogue since long time but, real and
scientific rapid progress in the extraction procedures for medicinal plant preparations
was made after 19th century.
 Such extraction techniques and processes were highly successful in the
phytochemical field leading to isolation of single pure molecules and standardized
extracts for therapeutic purposes.
 Simple traditional to advanced technologies conforming to official procedures are
being used to manufacture different types of preparations popularly known as
Galenicals.
Such class of preparations includes:
Decoctions
 Infusions
 Fluid extracts tinctures
 Semi solid extracts
Powdered extracts.

Extracts can be defined as preparations of crude drugs which contain all
the constituents which are soluble in the solvent used in making the extract.
In dry extracts all solvent has been removed.
Soft extracts and fluid extracts are prepared with mixtures of water and
ethanol as solvent.
Tinctures are prepared by extraction of the crude drug with five to ten
parts of ethanol of varying concentration, without concentration of the final
product.

 For both extracts and tinctures the ratio drug/solvent should always be stated.
 Several factors influence the extraction process.
 Plant constituents are usually contained inside the cells. Therefore, The solvent used
for extraction must diffuse into the cell to dissolve the desired compounds
whereupon the solution must pass the cell wall in the opposite direction and mix
with the surrounding liquid.
 An equilibrium is established between the solute inside the cells and the solvent
surrounding the fragmented plant tissues.
 The speed with which this equilibrium is established depends on:
• Temperature
• pH
• Particle size
• The movement of the solvent

The ideal solvent for a certain pharmacologically active constituent should:
1. Be highly selective for the compound to be extracted.
2. Have a high capacity for extraction in terms of coefficient of saturation of
the compound in the medium.
3. Not react with the extracted compound or with other compounds in the plant
material.
4. Have a low price.
5. Be harmless to man and to the environment.
6. Be completely volatile.

Aliphatic alcohols with up to three carbon atoms, or mixtures of the alcohols
with water, are the solvents with the greatest extractive power for almost all
natural substances of low molecular weight like alkaloids, saponins and
flavonoids.
According to the pharmacopoeias, ethyl alcohol is the solvent of choice for
obtaining classic extracts such as tinctures and fluid, soft and dry extracts.
The ethanol is usually mixed with water to induce swelling of the plant particles
and to increase the porosity of the cell walls which facilitates the diffusion of
extracted substances from inside the cells to the surrounding solvent.
For extraction of barks, roots, woody parts and seeds the ideal alcohol/water
ratio is about 7:3 or 8:2. For leaves or aerial green parts the ratio 1:1 is usually
preferred in order to avoid extraction of chlorophyll.

There are many procedures for obtaining extracts like:
1. Infusion
2. Maceration
3. Percolation
4. Digestion
5. Decoction
6. Continuous hot extraction
7. Solvent-solvent precipitation
8. Liquid-liquid extraction
9. Distillation
10. Specific procedures

 Infusion:Infusion:
In this method, the plant material (herbal tea)
is placed in a pot and wetted with cold water.
Immediately afterwards, boiling water is
poured over it, then left to stand, covered
with a lid, for about fifteen minutes after
which the tea is poured off.
 Maceration:Maceration:
This method is used frequently for water
soluble active constituents. It consists of
macerating the plant material in cold water
(15-20°) for several hours.
 Percolation:Percolation:
In this method, the ground plant material is
subjected to a slow flow of fresh solvent.
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Maceration Processes
General Procedure:
Plant Material (Crushed or cut small or Moderately coarse powder)

Placed in a closed vessels

Whole of the selected solvent (Menstruum) added

Allowed to stand for seven days shaking occasionally

Liquid strained off

Solid residue (mark) pressed (Recover as much as occluded solution)

(Strained and expressed liquids mixed)

Clarified by subsidence or filtration

Evaporation and Concentration

 Digestion:Digestion:
This method is suitable for hard barks or woods which are
difficult for water to penetrate. Digestion is also considered as
maceration but, at a relatively elevated temperature. As aAs a
general rule the temperature of the extracting medium shouldgeneral rule the temperature of the extracting medium should
be in the range from 35-40be in the range from 35-40°° but not exceeding 50but not exceeding 50°°..
 Decoction:Decoction:
If the plant material is boiled for ten minutes or if boiling water
is poured over it and allowed to stand for thirty minutes, the
result is called decoction.

Continuous hot extraction
 Continuous hot extraction method:Continuous hot extraction method:
This procedure is considered as the most
common method used for the extraction of
organic constituents from dried plant tissue. It
can be used both on laboratory and industrial
scales. In the lab, the powdered material is
continuously extracted in a Soxhlet apparatus
with a range of solvents of increasing polarity.
 Solvent-solvent precipitation:Solvent-solvent precipitation:
(I) The extract dissolved in a suitable solvent, is
mixed with a less polar but miscible solvent
causing the selective precipitation of the less
soluble plant constituent, e.g. the precipitation of
triterpenoid saponins from the methanol extract
of Phytolacca dodecandra by the addition of
acetone and the precipitation of gum from
aqueous extracts of Olibanum by addition of
alcohol.
(II) By the addition of the extract to a solvent in
which the constituents is insoluble or very
sparingly soluble e.g. precipitation of resins
from the alcoholic extracts by the addition of
distilled or acidulated water.
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Liquid liquid extraction
Liquid-liquid extraction, also known as
solvent extraction and partitioning,
is a method to separate compounds
based on their relative solubilities in
two different immiscible liquids,
usually water and an organic solvent.
It is an extraction of a substance from
one liquid phase into another liquid
phase.
Liquid-liquid extraction is a basic
technique in phytochemical
laboratories, where it is performed
using a separatory funnel.
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Extractive Values:
–Determines the amount of active constituents extracted with solvents from a given
amount of medicinal plant material.
Water Soluble Extractive: This method is applied to drugs which contain water
soluble active constituents of crude drugs, such as tannins, sugars, plant acids,
mucilage, glycosides etc.
Macerate 5 g of the air dried drug, coarsely powdered, with 100 ml of chloroform water
of the specified strength in a closed flask for twenty-four hours, shaking frequently during
six hours and allowing to stand for eighteen hours. Filter rapidly, taking precautions
against loss of solvent, evaporate 25 ml of the filtrate to dryness in a tared flat bottomed
shallow dish, and dry at 105º, to constant weight and weigh. Calculate the percentage of
water-soluble extractive with reference to the air-dried drug.
Alcohol Soluble Extractive: This method is frequently employed to determine the
approximate resin content of the drug.
Macerate 5 g of the air dried drug, coarsely powdered, with 100 ml of Alcoholof the
specified strength in a closed flask for twenty-four hours, shaking frequentlyduring six
hours and allowing to stand for eighteen hours. Filter rapidly, taking precautionsagainst
loss of solvent, evaporate 25 ml of the filtrate to dryness in a tared flatbottomed shallow
dish, and dry at 105º, to constant weight and weigh. Calculate thepercentage of alcohol-
soluble extractive with reference to the air-dried drug.

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Determination of EtherSoluble
Extractive :
Two types of ether soluble extractives are determined
for evaluation of crude drugs.
The Volatile ether-soluble extractive represents volatile
oil content of the drug and non-volatile ether-soluble
extractives represent resin, fixed oil or colouring matter
present in the drugs.
Transfer a suitably weighed quantity (depending on the
fixed oil content) of the air dried, crushed drug to an
extraction thimble, extract with Solvent ether or petroleum
ether.

 The spectrum of constituents obtained by steady state
extractions differs from the spectrum obtained by exhaustive
extractions.
 By the use of motive extraction methods, the aid of stirring and
shearing forces, changes of temperature and quality of
extraction solvent may lead to extracts with a spectrum of
Constituents.
 Different manufacturing procedures have to be assessed as
equivalent if the critical quality parameters of the specification
are conformed to and if compliance with standards is proven by
the results of a number of production batches.
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