Isolation, separation and purification of rutin from Banana leaves (Musa balbisiana)

In this study, rutin was detected as a main component after the phytochemical screening of flavonoids from an ethanolic extract of banana leaves (Musa balbisiana) using thin layer chromatography plates (TLC). The rutin from the crude extract was separated using a series of solvent partition separations and was purified by using Sephadex (TM) column chromatography and semi-preparative reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The compounds were characterized and quantified using NMR, Mass Spectroscopy (MS) and HPLC. A crude ethanolic extract of 124 g, containing 5.3 % of rutin, was obtained from 1 kg of dried banana leaf powder. After a series of solvent partition separations, the product from partitions using hexane/dichloromethane and dichloromethane/water in sequence contained a rutin content of 40.6 %. Purification using a Sephadex column yielded fractions with purity of rutin up to 74-84 % and further purification using semipreparative RP-HPLC produced a final product with a yield of rutin of 32.4 mg/g of the crude extracts and a purity of 98.4 %. The results revealed that banana leaves (M. balbisiana), a food industry by-product and agricultural waste, has the potential for use as an inexpensive and new source of rutin.