Abstract: The objective of this study was to optimize the alkali catalytic hydrolysis process of salvianolic acid B into Danshensu from Salvia miltiorrhiza. The reacting conditions,including NaOH concentration,hydrolysis time,ratio of solid to liquid and hydrolysis temperature,were optimized using orthogonal experimental design with four factors and three levels.The optimal hydrolysis process was obtained as follows:hydrolyzed with 0.6% of NaOH,for 1.0 h at 100 ℃ and the ratio of solid to liquid of 1:20 (g/mL).The average conversion rate of Danshensu was 1145.66%,the average hydrolysis rate of salvianolic acid B was 98.94 %,the content of Danshensu were increased from 0.27% to 3.36%.

Key words: Danshensu, salvianolic acid B, hydrolysis technology, orthogonal test