Abstract
The Black ant Polyrhachis lamellidens Fr. Smith (Formicidae), found wild throughout China and Taiwan, has long been used as folk medicine for the treatment of rheumatism, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic hepatitis, sexual hypofunction and antiaging. In this study, we extracted several components from this insect by using the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) technique under different temperature, pressure, and extraction time. The extracts were analyzed by gas chromatographic-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and identified by a mass library search. This paper presents a comparison of extraction quantity and composition by different extraction conditions. The results show that thirty-nine known compounds were isolated from P. lamelliden for the first time. Pressure is the major factor in affecting the extraction yield in SFE. The results also indicated that (Z)-9-octadecenoic acid (oleic acid) is the major constituent in the extracts from all the SFE extraction and from 95% ethanolic extraction. In addition to oleic acid, the extracts are also rich in aliphatic hydrocarbons, aliphatic alcohols, aliphatic fatty acids, and steroids.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 72-78 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Food and Drug Analysis |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| State | Published - 06 2001 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Black ant
- GC-MS
- Polyrhachis lamellidens
- Supercritical fluid extraction
