BOOK OF ABSTRACTS - 4th International Symposium on RECENT ADVANCES IN FOOD ANALYSIS (RAFA)

Extraction and Purification of Inositols and Iminosugars from Plant Extracts

Significance of the Topic

• Inositols and iminosugars are bioactive carbohydrates with health benefits and pharmaceutical potential.
• Efficient extraction and clean-up methods are required to isolate these compounds from complex plant matrices.

Study Objectives and Overview

• Develop a simplified procedure to isolate inositols and iminosugars from plant samples using ion exchange and solid-phase extraction.
• Apply the method to model plant matrices to demonstrate selectivity and yield.

Methodology

• Plant material was extracted with an aqueous solvent to release target carbohydrates.
• Primary purification by ion exchange chromatography at controlled pH to remove salts and phenolics.
• Secondary cleanup by solid-phase extraction to concentrate inositols and iminosugars.
• Final analysis and quantification by appropriate chromatographic techniques (e.g. HPLC with refractive index or evaporative light scattering detection).

Main Findings

• The combined ion exchange–SPE approach efficiently removed matrix interferences while retaining the target compounds.
• Recovery rates exceeded 85 % for both inositols and iminosugars from spiked model extracts.
• Method showed good reproducibility (RSD < 5 %) across multiple replicates and sample types.

Practical Applications

• Routine screening of functional plant ingredients for health-promoting carbohydrates.
• High-throughput sample preparation for industrial quality control.
• Adaptable to a variety of botanical matrices.

Future Trends and Potential Uses

• Automation of the cleanup steps to increase throughput.
• Coupling with mass spectrometry for structural confirmation of novel iminosugars.
• Application to metabolic profiling in functional food research.

Conclusion

• The optimized extraction-purification protocol delivers high yields and purity of inositols and iminosugars from plant samples.
• The method balances simplicity, robustness, and selectivity for routine analysis.

References

• Standard analytical texts on carbohydrate extraction techniques.
• Recent reviews on functional inositols and iminosugar bioactivity in foods.