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Abstract The extensive use of insecticides and agrochemicals are hazardous to the health and to the environment the effect of accumulative exposure on the liver, kidney, brain and other body organs. They also cause bronchial and skin allergies and chronic toxicity. This urged us to find a natural, ubiqujtous and low cost substitute for the globally forbidden insecticides still used in Egypt. Although many studies indicated that the alkaloid extracted from Anabasis setifera (Moq.) of family Chenopodiacea shows a potent pesticidal activity, some other studies went further in trying to isolate and purify some of these alkaloids such as anabasine. However, there were never complete studies on such as alkaloid anabasine with regard to potency as a pesticide or insecticide! pathological effects and as a neurotransmittence inhibitor. In this study! a combination of conventional and novel chromatographic techniques in biotechnology has been performed for alkaloid purification. Alkaloid extraction from Anabasis setifera (Moq.) was carried out on 1 kg powdered aerial shoots using ethanol 95% acidified with 0.5% acetic acid, followed by petroleum ether and ethyl acetate respectively. The extracted alkaloid was concentrated using a rotary vacuum evaporator until it was dry. Investigation and determination of the alkaloid content was carried out both by spectrophotometry (using a alizarin dye which produces a pink color when heated with the extract at 90°C1 the intensity of which was measured at 530 nm) and chromatographically by GC using FID. |