Large scale purification of geraniin from Nephelium lappaceum rind waste using reverse-phase chromatography

Geraniin, an ellagitannin was found to be the major constituent in extracts of Nephelium lappaceum (rambutan) rind which is an agricultural waste in South East Asia. The compound has been found to possess a range of bioactive properties which includes antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity, antimicrobial, antiviral and antihypertensive properties and in vitro antihyperglycaemic activity. Thus geraniin is a candidate for more extensive study into its potential pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and cosmetic applications. In this method, a 21% yield of geraniin was obtained from crude ethanolic extract of rambutan rind by fractionation using reverse-phase C18 column chromatography. Geraniin was further purified via crystallization to obtain crystals of approximately 98% purity which was confirmed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The major impurities identified using liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) data were corilagin and elaeocarpusin which are closely related to the geraniin structure and reported to have similar biological activities. The high yield and purity of the isolated compound enables this method to be utilised as a large scale procedure of geraniin production for further in vitro and in vivo studies. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.