Supercritical Fluid Chromatography in Natural Product Analysis - An Update

The wide chemical diversity of natural products has challenged analysts all over the world and has been a driving force for the development of innovative technologies since decades. In the last years, supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) has finally emerged from the shadow of liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) and has become a powerful tool in modern natural product analysis. Whereas in the past the technique had mainly been restricted to a small group of nonpolar compounds, it has largely expanded its suitability in the last years and has demonstrated possibilities without boundaries. This mini-review, focused on the latest applications, provides a brief update on the current status of SFC in natural product analysis with the aim to demonstrate its applicability for both polar and nonpolar plant constituents. The approaches cover the whole range of polarity, including carotenoids, flavonoids, water-unstable ginkgolides, and even highly polar triterpene saponins with several sugar residues.