The invention discloses a method for extracting and preparing
diosgenin from
Dioscorea nipponica Makino or other Dioscoreaceae plants, belonging to the technical fields of
deep processing of agricultural products and
medicine. The method comprises the following steps: pulverizing
Dioscorea nipponica Makino or other Dioscoreaceae plants according to a conventional method, adding the pulverized plants into a pressurized extraction tank, then adding a proper amount of
ethanol / water as a
solvent, adding acidic
ionic liquid as a catalyst, carrying out extraction at a certain pressure and a certaintemperature for a certain period of time, cooling extract
room temperature after extraction, carrying out filtering to remove herbal residues, appropriately concentrating a filtrate, allowing concentrated liquid to passed through a
macroporous resin column, carrying out washing with water to remove acidic
ionic liquid, then carrying out
elution by using
ethanol with an appropriate concentration, and subjecting eluate to concentration and
drying so as to obtain
diosgenin. According to the method, the acidic
ionic liquid is used for replacing commonly used inorganic acid, so the problems of excessive acid consumption and serious
pollution environment in modern industrial preparation of
diosgenin are overcome; at the same time,
elution with the
macroporous resin column is used for replacing
gasoline or
petroleum ether extraction, so the problem of usage of flammable and explosive solvents is overcome; and the acidic ionic liquid and
macroporous resin can be recycled. The method has the characteristics of safety, conservation of cost and
environmental protection.