SUPERCRITICAL EXTRACTION AND HPLC ANALYSIS OF TAXOL FROM TAXUS-BREVIFOLIA USING NITROUS-OXIDE AND NITROUS-OXIDE PLUS ETHANOL MIXTURES

Taxol is an alkaloid which has been found to be exceptionally promisin g in the treatment of ovarian cancer. The major current sources of the drug are yew species which are in limited supply. As a result, there is a need for improved separation processes to effectively remove the drug from its natural sources. In this study, the separation of taxol from the bark of Taxus brevifolia has been achieved at 320 K and 331 K and at a pressure range of 10.3 to 38.10 MPa using supercritical nitr ous oxide and nitrous oxide + ethanol mixtures. The extracts were quan tified by high pressure liquid chromatography with photo diode array d etection in the UV region. It was found that supercritical nitrous oxi de + ethanol mixtures were able to extract most of the taxol present i n the bark and that the extractions were more efficient than those usi ng CO2 + ethanol mixtures.