[Rapid analysis of psoralen and isopsoralen in Psoralea corylifolia by microwave-assisted extraction].

To establish a convenient and rapid method of microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) for the extraction of psoralen and isopsoralen in Psoralea corylifolia. The effects of various parameters on the MAE were investigated with several single-factor tests, and compared with the traditional extraction. The optimal conditions of MAE were as follows: the extractine time was 3 min, and the ratio of solvent to material was 400 mL x g(-1) by using methanol as the solvent. Compared with soxhlet extraction, heat reflux extraction, and ultrasound-assisted extraction, MAE needed only 3 min to give the highest yield of psoralen and isopsoralen, while the other extraction methods needed several hours and gave lower yield. The proposed method has greatly shortened extraction time and improved extraction yield, so it provides a neotype, simple and rapid measure for the separation of psoralen and isopsoralen from P. corylifolia.