Search for New Active Substances for the Development of Pharmaceuticals Using Supercritical Fluid Extraction

The use of supercritical fluids for the extraction of biologically active substances is an extremely urgent task. Extraction in a supercritical fluid environment at temperatures up to 323 K and pressures of 16–20 MPa allows preserving the value of the extracted substances. This article discusses equipment and experimental studies of the process of supercritical fluid extraction of biologically active substances from various plant materials: aralia, ginseng, Tribulus terrestris, and a collection of multiphytoadaptogen. A comparative analysis of the efficiency of supercritical and traditional liquid extraction in a Soxhlet apparatus was carried out. High performance liquid chromatography was used to determine the content of active substances in the obtained extracts. It has been established that the yield of active substances during supercritical fluid extraction is higher than during traditional extraction methods. In addition, the use of ultrasound during supercritical extraction allows increasing the yield of aralosides from aralia.