Passion flower extraction questions

[Dorge]

What would be the best method for extracting the harmalas from passion flower and isolating them?

 

[nen888]

..i would recommend ethanol/mild acetic acid (with some heat X3), basification, then non-polar extraction..
there is some good information in this old paper:
partition coefficients of ether extractable passionflower alkaloids
..most recorded herbal usage and chemical tests have been with stem or leaf,
i'm not sure if the actual flowers have ever been analysed ironically...

 

[nen888]

the above linked paper by Eskil Hultin (1960) says the following in the Experimental

The portion of the ethanol extract of Passiflora incarnata which was soluble in dilute phosphoric acid was made slightly basic with sodium hydroxide and then extracted continuously with ether for several days...Only small amounts alkaloids were extracted...(Further continuous extraction with a mixture of methylene chloride and methanol over a period of a week yielded an extract considerably higher in alkaloid content.)

..the paper also gives information for the separation of various ß-carbolines from eachother,
and from phenols, using buffer solutions at different pH..methylene chloride is dcm..
as the water soluble flavinoids may also be responsible for activity, one may not necessarily
want to discard these, and water soluble fractions could also be solidified/purfied..
.
[EDIT - ps. the above quote suggests full spectrum solvents like xylene or d-limonine should be used, not napatha.]