The invention relates to an
echinacea extract and a preparation method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of
medicine. The fresh echinacea is harvested from mid-August to the end of Septembereach year and
cut into sections of 5-15 cm, hot water at 90-98 DEG C is firstly added to a continuous countercurrent extractor, and then the
cut fresh echinacea is put for
enzyme inactivation; the pHvalue is adjusted to 4.2-6.2, and spraying extraction is performed for 60-90min to obtain an extraction solution; then the extraction solution passes through D941 macroporous
weak base anion exchangeresin (each resin column is loaded with 330-780 kg of resin), and a column liquid is collected; the column liquid is concentrated under reduced pressure to a
relative density of 1.12-1.18,
ethanol with the volume of 2.5-3.2 times is added to obtain an
alcohol precipitate, and then concentration under reduced pressure is continued to recover the
ethanol to obtain an extract; and the extract is subjected to
spray drying to obtain the
echinacea extract. By use of the extraction method of the present invention, technologies such as
raw material harvesting, continuous extraction, pH adjustment andresin purification are completed in a relatively short time, and the cichoric
acid content is increased to 4%-12%. Large-scale production reduces the cost of the
echinacea extract and is beneficial to marketization.