Development of a Simple, Rapid, and Economical Method for Extraction and Isolation of 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic Acid from the Resins of Boswellia serrata

Background: Boswellia serrata is an important species from the Boswellia genus, which contains a variety of significant phytoconstituents. Numerous applications of the B. Serrata have been mentioned in the literature of the Indian ayurvedic system. Researchers reported abundant pharmacological activities of B. Serrata resins extract. The extract produces synergistic pharmacological activity due to the presence of the Boswellia acids and their derivatives. Among all Boswellia acids, 3-O-acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) was found to be more potent. Traditionally, column chromatography was used for the isolation of AKBA from raw material as well as extracts. However, the column chromatography method was monotonous and timeconsuming. Objective: The main goal of the research was to develop a new, simple, rapid, and reproducible method for the isolation of AKBA from the resin extract of B. Serrata. Methods: The extraction and isolation of AKBA involved extraction of resins using hydroalcoholic solution followed by alkali treatment. The alkali solution was further treated with acid to precipitate the crude AKBA. Results: The obtained crude AKBA was subjected to the dry column vacuum chromatography to separate and yield the high purity of the AKBA. The purity of the isolated AKBA was established by TLC & UHPLC. Spectral characterization of the isolated compound was performed by employing IR, MS, and NMR. Conclusion: The proposed method can be used to isolate AKBA from resin extract of B. Serrata. Some modifications in this method lead to the large-scale production of highly pure AKBA for various pharmaceutical applications.