Volume 198, 16 February 2015, Pages 9–14
Supercritical fluid extraction of heather (Calluna vulgaris) and evaluation of anti-hepatitis C virus activity of the extracts
Highlights
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- Supercritical fluid extraction produced heather extracts with high concentration of triterpenic (oleanolic and ursolic) acids.
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- A fourfold increase of extract yield is produced when using ethanol as CO2 cosolvent.
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- Superior anti-HCV activity was observed for higher content of oleanolic and ursolic acids in the extracts.
Abstract
Previous studies using lipid extracts of heather (Calluna vulgaris)
leaves showed the presence of high concentrations of ursolic and
oleanolic acid. These two compounds have been reported to present
antiviral activity against hepatitis C virus (HCV). In this work, the
supercritical fluid extraction of heather was studied with the aim of
assessing a potential anti-HCV activity of the extracts owing to their
triterpenic acid content. Supercritical extraction assays were carried
out exploring the pressure range of 20–50 MPa, temperatures of 40–70 °C
and 0–15% of ethanol cosolvent. The content of oleanolic and ursolic
acid in the extracts were determined, and different samples were
screened for cellular cytotoxicity and virus inhibition using a HCV cell
culture infection system. Antiviral activity was observed in most
extracts. In general, superior anti-HCV activity was observed for higher
contents of oleanolic and ursolic acids in the extracts.
Keywords
- Supercritical fluid extraction;
- Calluna vulgaris L.;
- Heather;
- Hepatitis C virus;
- Ursolic acid;
- Oleanolic acid
- Corresponding
author at: Institute of Experimental Virology, Twincore, Centre for
Experimental and Clinical Infection Research, A Joint Venture Between
Medical School Hannover and Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research,
30625 Hannover, Germany. Tel.:
+49 511 5327133; fax: +49 511 53218508.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
