[Focusyn]

Hi Everybody, I'm a biology student and i need some support in the chemical part of my degree thesis.

I need to use the total alkaloids, flavonoids and terpenes, from the fruits of Opuntia ficus-indica. I made a methanolic extract, but I suspect that a considerable part of the extract are sugars (sacarose, fructose). I don't need the sugars, not in a big quantity at least.

How can I separate the sugars from the rest of the extract?

Thanks in advance. 

[Arkcon]

We like to help people help themselves on this forum, so can you begin to figure this out for yourself by comparing some of the physical and chemical properties of the components you want to separate?

[Honclbrif]

I used to work in a natural products lab where we extracted various compounds from cranberries. A large part of that was removal of sugars from the extracts. I'd recommend looking in the cranberry literature for how it was done.

[Focusyn]

It could be by a centrifugation method? due to the higher molecular weight of the flavonoids than the monosaccharides (O. ficus-indica fruits have almost exclusively monosaccharides). In the most of the papers there isn't explication about the exclusion of sugars from the methanolics extracts. Could be by the use of other solvents subsequently the methanol? like CH₂Cl₂, EtOAc, and n-butanol. What solvent properties should I look for?

Thanks again.

[Honclbrif]

Look up Diaion HP-20