This document discusses various plant extraction and fractionation methods. Extraction involves separating the medicinally active parts of plants from inactive components using selective solvents. Common extraction methods include maceration, infusion, digestion, and decoction. Maceration soaks plants in solvents, infusion uses hot or cold water, digestion uses gentle heat, and decoction boils plants in water. Fractionation further separates crude extracts into portions by solvent polarity in a fractional process.

1. Plant Extraction and
Fractionation

2. Extraction
• Extraction, as the term is used
pharmaceutically, involves the separation of
medicinally active portions of plant or
animal tissues from the inactive or inert
components by using selective solvents in
standard extraction procedures.

3. Method of Extraction

4. Maceration
• In this process, the whole or coarsely powdered
crude drug is placed in a stoppered container with
the solvent and allowed to stand at room
temperature for a period of at least 3 days with
frequent agitation until the soluble matter has
dissolved.

5. Stoppered container

6. Infusion
• Fresh infusions are prepared by
macerating the crude drug for a short
period of time with cold or boiling water.
These are dilute solutions of the readily
soluble constituents of crude drugs.

7. Digestion
• This is a form of maceration in which
gentle heat is used during the process of
extraction.

8. Decoction
•In this process, the crude drug
is boiled in a specified volume
of water for a defined time; it is
then cooled and strained or
filtered.

9. Precolation
• A continuous flow of the
solvent through the bed of the
crude drug material to get the
extract.

10. Fractionation
To seperate (mixture) into different portions
especially by a fractional process.
-Merriam Webster

11. Flow chart
Dried plant material
Crude Extract
Hexane Chloroform Ethyl Acetate Butanol