[Study on the extraction of indirubin from Isatis indigotica Fort].

Objective: To study the optimal process of the extraction of indirubin from Isatis indigotica Fort.

Methods: The process was studied by supersonic extraction, refluxing and orthogonal design with the content of indirubin as the detective marker. Then the extraction of indirubin with supersonic extraction and other methods were compared basing on the yield of extracts.

Results: Among them, the supersonic extraction was the simplest and the most rapid and the most complete in extraction. And the optimal conditions were A1 B1 C2 D3: supersonic extraction with 60% ethanol, 1 hour, 10-fold solvent and 3 times.

Conclusion: The supersonic extraction can extract more indirubin from Isatis indigotica Fort in shorter time with less energy. It also shows a promising prospect for leaching the effective constituents from Chinese herbal medicine by supersonic extraction.