Selective removal of tannins from medicinal plant extracts using a collagen fiber adsorbent

A novel adsorbent, used for the selective removal of tannins from medicinal plant extracts, was prepared from bovine skin collagen fiber. Some typical active constituents of medicinal plants were selected as probe molecules to investigate the adsorption selectivity of the collagen fiber adsorbent to tannins. In batch adsorption experiments, the extent of adsorption of condensed tannins, including larch tannin, black wattle tannin and bayberry tannin, was 100%. The extent of adsorption of tannic acid and the hydrolyzable tannins was also 100%. In contrast, for the most active constituents of medicinal plants, their amounts adsorbed by collagen fiber adsorbent were limited. For procyanidin, the common active constituents in medicinal plant extracts, its extent of adsorption was also low, although it has a similar basic structure to condensed tannins. In comparison with traditionally used polyamide adsorbent, the collagen fiber adsorbent exhibited an obvious advantage in adsorption selectivity over tannins. Therefore, this study provides a novel and effective method for selective removal of tannins from medicinal plant extracts. (c) 2005 Society of Chemical Industry.