The process of extracting from plants

[sonofsnow]

If you were looking at a plant of intrest and found alkaloids or compounds of that you would like to get how would one go forth?

Say i find the chemical structure, draw lewis stucture? find polarity
extract with polar or non polar solvent?

Make a salt or freebase and extract?

The thing i Wonder is what do you have to know about the alkaloid or compounds, and how does one go forth?

 

[mumbles]

Find out the physical properties of the alkaloid as a freebase and as various salts eg phosphate, tannate, hydrochloride from either experimentation on small scale or from the literature/internet. An alkaloid will be a salt at a low pH, and freebase at a higher pH. Salts are soluble in polar solvents ie water, and freebases are soluble in non-polar solvents. Thats all you really need to know.

 

[burnt]

Most plants containing alkaloids contain quite complex mixtures. It is very hard to obtain pure alkaloids without some kind of chromatography. Mimosa is a lucky exception. But don't get the idea that mimosa is the norm.

If you could be more specific I'm sure people could help you come up with experiment design.

 

[sonofsnow]

Most plants containing alkaloids contain quite complex mixtures. It is very hard to obtain pure alkaloids without some kind of chromatography. Mimosa is a lucky exception. But don't get the idea that mimosa is the norm.

If you could be more specific I'm sure people could help you come up with experiment design.

For example there are two other compounds in P.Incarnata thata are possibly psychoactive on their one. I am thinking of apigenine and C-glycosylfavones.