Abstract:

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared using zingerone as the mimic template to separate 6-gingerol with a high purify from fresh ginger. The polymerization was conducted in aqueous solution using methylacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomers, ethylene glycol dimethylacrylate (EGDMA) as the cross-linker, 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as the initiator, ester as porogen and glycerol monostearate (GM) as the emulsifier. Resultant MIPs were loaded with fresh ginger juice until equilibrium. After the removal of impurities through water elution, loaded MIPs were sequentially eluted with 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40% and 95% (V/V) ethanol solution. The residues obtained after ethanol evaporation was analyzed for 6-gingerol content by HPLC. The highest yield of total 6-gingerol was distributed mainly in fractions of 20% and 25% ethanol elution with a total amount of 79.07%. The adsorption capability of MIPs to 6-gingerol was 63.35 mg/g, much higher than that of NIPs of 11.26 mg/g. The synthesized MIPs exhibited highly specific recognition and selectivity for 6-gingerol and could be utilized to produce 6-gingerol in an industrial scale from fresh ginger.

Key words: ginger, 6-gingerol, zingerone, molecularly imprinted polymers