Recent developments for the analysis and the extraction of bioactive compounds from Rosmarinus officinalis and medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae family

Abstract

Abstract Plants extracts are increasingly used in food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical. This review presents the state of the art of the last 20 years in the separation and extraction of nonvolatile compounds, mainly from rosmarinus leaves, and especially focused on their suitability for rosmarinic acid, carnosol and carnosic acid. In Lamiaceae species, the bioactive compounds are mainly polyphenols, flavonoids and di- or triterpenes, and their separation has been mainly achieved by RPLC. Several issues related to these separations are discussed, as well as the interest of the HPLC-MS coupling, especially for epimers. This review also reports the range of conditions used for classical and modern extraction methods, and their comparison. The efficiency of varied solvents is discussed, as well as the compound stability and their degradation pathways. It also describes innovative extraction methods and deals with hyphenated systems comprising both extraction and separation steps, both for analytical and preparative scales. Some unusual processes are also described.