Echinacea Purpurea Extract Powder

We select Echinacea raw materials, which undergo manual sorting to remove impurities before being fed into a high-efficiency pulverizer for grinding. The ground material is then passed through a 15-mesh sieve (meeting a particle size range of 10–24 mesh) to ensure uniform particle size, thereby facilitating thorough solvent penetration during the subsequent extraction process. The pulverized Echinacea powder is temporarily stored in a clean storage bin.

Based on the batch input quantity, the Echinacea powder is loaded into an extraction tank. A 70% ethanol solution-pre-supplemented with 0.2% citric acid-is added at a ratio of 8 times the weight of the raw material (w/v). The stirring and reflux mechanisms are activated, and the mixture is heated to a gentle boil, maintaining reflux extraction for 2.0 hours. Upon completion of the extraction, the filtrate is separated from the spent residue using a plate-and-frame filter press or centrifugal filtration. The filtrate is then pumped into a vacuum concentrator and concentrated under reduced pressure (vacuum level: -0.06 to -0.08 MPa) at a temperature of 55–65°C. Concentration continues until the relative density, measured at 60°C, reaches a range of 1.06–1.12. This yields the acid-alcohol extract concentrate, which is temporarily stored in a sterile holding tank for later use.

The spent residue remaining after filtration in the previous step is transferred to a separate warm extraction tank. A 0.1% aqueous sodium carbonate solution is added at a ratio of 6 times the weight of the residue. The jacket heating system is activated to maintain the internal tank temperature at 75°C, and the warm extraction is conducted for 1.0 hour. Upon completion, the filtrate is collected via centrifugal filtration or vibrating screen filtration, while the spent residue is treated as waste and disposed of in an environmentally responsible manner. The resulting filtrate undergoes vacuum concentration under conditions similar to the previous step, concentrating until the relative density, measured at 60°C, reaches a range of 1.06–1.08. This yields the alkaline aqueous extract concentrate.

The acid-alcohol extract concentrate and the alkaline aqueous extract concentrate are combined in a blending tank equipped with an agitator. They are mixed according to a specific ratio (typically 1:1, or adjusted based on actual extraction yields) to ensure thorough and uniform blending. The liquid mixture is conveyed via piping to a high-speed tubular centrifuge, where the rotational speed is set between 15,000 and 20,000 revolutions per minute. Centrifugal force is utilized to remove insoluble precipitates, yielding a clarified supernatant. The clarified liquid resulting from centrifugation proceeds directly to the subsequent processing stage, while the collected precipitates are consolidated and disposed of as solid waste.

The clarified liquid obtained from centrifugation undergoes drying via a spray-drying process. During spray drying, the inlet air temperature of the drying tower is controlled within the range of 180–200°C, the outlet air temperature at 80–90°C, and the atomizer frequency at 250–300 Hz; these parameters ensure that the final product is a uniform, fine powder exhibiting a pale yellow or yellow-green hue. Following drying, the Echinacea extract powder is recovered through a combination of cyclone separation and bag filtration, after which it undergoes sieving (using an 80-mesh or 100-mesh screen) within a cleanroom environment. Finally, the product is subjected to analytical testing to verify key parameters, including polyphenol content, chicoric acid content, moisture levels, and microbiological purity.