Separation Behavior of Paclitaxel and Its Semi-synthetic Precursor 10-Deacetylpaclitaxel from Plant Cell Cultures

In this study, we investigated the separation behavior of the anticancer agent paclitaxel and its semi-synthetic precursor 10-deacetylpaclitaxel (10-DAP) from plant cell cultures. As a result of sequential separation/purification performed by biomass extraction with solvent, liquid-liquid extraction, adsorbent treatment, hexane precipitation, and fractional precipitation, the adsorbent treatment was found to be the most effective in separating and recovering 10DAP from paclitaxel. The optimal adsorbent type, crude extract/adsorbent ratio, and adsorbent treatment temperature were sylopute, 1: 1.5 (w/w), and 20 degrees C, respectively. The separation/recovery of 10-DAP from paclitaxel was 74.1% in adsorbent treatment process under optimal conditions.