Process for extraction of active compounds from plant biomass

A process for the extraction of active compounds from plant material, the process comprising:

• a) separating or isolating the chlorenchyma from the plant material;
• b) drying, optionally by drying, the chlorenchyma to a moisture level of less than 10%;
• c) reducing the particle size of the dried chlorenchyma to obtain a powder having a reduced particle size;
• d) mixing the powder with a non-polar solvent to form a mixture having a solid phase and a liquid phase, wherein the solid phase comprises the active compounds and the liquid phase comprises hydrophobic compounds;
• e) agitating, optionally by sonication, the mixture at low power to reduce the particle size of the solid phase;
• f) separating the solid phase from the liquid phase;
• g) extracting the active compounds from the solid phase by mixing the solid phase with an alcohol to form an alcoholic mixture;
• h) separating, optionally by centrifuging, the alcoholic mixture to obtain a first alcoholic extract and a depleted solid phase;
• i) optionally further separating, optionally by filtering, the alcoholic extract to obtain a filtered alcoholic extract;
• j) optionally, repeating steps g)-i) on the depleted solid phase to obtain a second filtered alcoholic extract;
• k) combining the first and second alcoholic extracts and removing, optionally by evaporating, the alcohol to obtain a crude oil comprising the active compounds;
• l) mixing the crude oil with ethyl acetate and acidified water to form a crude mixture;
• m) agitating, optionally by sonication, the crude mixture at low power to obtain a water phase and a first ethyl acetate phase;
• n) separating the water phase from the ethyl acetate phase;
• o) mixing the water phase with a base to obtain a basified water phase having a basic pH, optionally having a pH greater than 12.0;
• p) mixing the basified water phase with ethyl acetate and separating therefrom a second ethyl acetate phase;
• and
• q) combining the first and second ethyl acetate phases and removing the ethyl acetate to obtain a purified crude oil comprising the active compounds.