Large-Scale Preparation of a Specific Xanthone from Swertia mussotii and Evaluation of Its α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activity.

Large-scale preparation and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity of a specific xanthone swertioside from Swertia mussotii were investigated in this study. Firstly, an efficient method was successfully established by liquid-liquid extraction, preparative high-performance liquid chromatography and sephadex LH-20 for large-scale preparation of swertioside. The recovery of swertioside reached 92.0%. Secondly, in vitro α-glucosidase inhibition experiment showed that swertioside had good inhibition close to acarbose. The study showed that swertioside had potential use as an anti-diabetic agent.