Extraction of artemisinin from Artemisia annua L

疟疾在全世界造成许多人死亡，主要是在非洲。大多数受这种疾病影响的人是五岁以下的儿童。已经提出了几种治疗这种疾病的方法，但在迄今研究的化合物中，由于其治疗效果，青蒿素已显示出潜力。不同的溶剂萃取方法已被用于从天然来源如黄花蒿叶中分离青蒿素。然而，获得青蒿素的数量和纯度仍然是一个挑战。该项目的主要目标是使用超临界流体（SCF）萃取技术，这是一种环保的“绿色”技术，从生物共享国际有限公司提供的青蒿叶片中提取青蒿素。SCF萃取使用二氧化碳作为溶剂，可以很容易地将溶剂从提取的青蒿素中分离出来，留下易于分离和表征的产品。SCF萃取的结果（在收率和产品质量方面）将与常规溶剂萃取进行比较。纯青蒿素的高产量将使加拿大生产的青蒿素商业化，并将加强加拿大的农业部门。青蒿素的成功提取和商业化还具有社会效益，可能为疟疾提供负担得起的治疗方法，这是一种影响第三世界的广泛疾病。

Malaria has caused many deaths worldwide, mainly in Africa. Most people affected by this disease are children under five years of age. Several treatments have been proposed to combat this disease but, among the compounds studied to date, artemisinin has shown potential due to its therapeutic effect. Different solvent extraction methodologies have been used to isolate artemisinin from natural sources such as Artemisia annua L leaves. However, the amount and purity of the artimisinin obtained are still a challenge. The main objective of this project is to use supercritical fluid (SCF) extraction, an environmentally-friendly "green" technology, to extract artemisinin from Artemisia annua L leaves provided by Bio-Share International Ltd. SCF extraction using carbon dioxide as the solvent allows easy separation of the solvent from the extracted arteminisin, leaving a product that is easy to isolate and characterize. Results from SCF extraction (in terms of yield and product quality) will be compared to conventional solvent extraction. A high yield of pure artimisinin will allow commercialization of artimisinin produced in Canada and will strengthen Canada's agricultural sector. Successful extraction and commercialization of artimisinin also has a social benefit of potentially providing an affordable treatment for malaria, a widespread disease affecting the third world.