High yield of podophyllotoxin from leaves of Podophyllum peltatum by in situ conversion of podophyllotoxin 4 O-beta-D-glucopyranoside

Rehydration of powdered tissues of Podophyllum peltatum L. prior to extract ion with an organic solvent allows endogenous beta -glucosidases to hydroly ze lignan 4-O-beta -D-glucosides in situ and increase the yield of podophyl lotoxin. Aqueous extraction of rhizomes and leaves of P. peltatum yielded 4 - to 10-fold greater quantities of podophyllotoxin than the traditional eth anolic extraction. Most significantly, leaves were shown to contain over 52 mg of podophyllotoxin per g of dry weight: (5.2%), exceeding levels previo usly reported from any source. These results point to the use of leaves har vested from cultivated P. peltatum as an attractive alternative to the dest ructive collection of natural populations.