Isolation and purification of bioactive citrus limonoids and flavonoids and their effects on bone homeostasis

Citrus, which belongs to the family Rutaceae, proved beneficial for human health in preventing certain cardiovascular disorders and anemia. Animal and cell culture studies also showed citrus to be helpful in preventing several cancers in colon, lung, skin, stomach and breast. The present study is one of the first to provide an experiment that was focused on isolating the bioactive compounds present in citrus, namely limonoids and flavonoids and to evaluate whether their consumption would affect bone homeostasis in osteoporotic rats. The bioactive compounds were isolated using specific combinations of food grade adsorbent and ion exchange resins. Obacunone, limonin, nomilin, deacetylnomilin, limonin-17-beta-D-glucoside, deacetylnomilinc acid glucoside and naringin were purified (>95% pure) and characterized using HPLC and NMR. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...