Background / Requirement
A grower of biomedicinal herbs was looking to extract the
active ingredient Parthenolide from the medicinal herb Feverfew
for capsules. Clinical trials have shown that Parthenolide
reduces the frequency and severity of migraine headaches when
taken in small amounts daily by affecting the release of serotonin,
an important chemical messenger in the brain, and reducing
the level of certain chemicals associated with inflammation,
including histamines and prostaglandins. The migraine-preventing
effect takes 4 to 6 weeks to appear. The Feverfew leaf is
available in powder, tablets and capsules.
After the product is harvested and dried it must be sized
between 2mm to 4mm (5-10 USS Mesh) in order to efficiently
extract the Parthenolide. Particles below 2mm can not be readily
used because these smaller particles obstruct the filters
in the extraction process. Due to the material characteristics
of the product, a percentage of the product tends to fall
below the desired range. These smaller particles can be further
reduced in size to 180 micron (80) mesh for tablet manufacturing.
Summary
The Comil® was successful in achieving 60% of the product
in the target 2-4 mm range. If the particle size range
is increased to 1.4 - 5 mm, then the Comil is able to
achieve 75-80% of the product in the target range.
The remaining product was processed further to an average
particle size of 40-80 mesh. While the particle size
in this range is larger than typical pharmaceutical
applications, it is still acceptable for the health
food market.
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