shikimic acid from staranise (illicium verum hook): extraction, purification and determination

Shikimic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxy-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxylic acid) is considered as an essential biochemical metabolite in autotrophic organisms, such as plants and some bacteria, which is used to procreate the anti-influenza drug oseltamivir. generally speaking, there are three main methods to produce shikimic acid, which are included in the chemical synthesis and microbial fermentation as well as extraction from natural plants. this review focused on the extraction of shikimic acid from chinese star anise as the main industrial source for shikimic acid production and presents some of the conducted studies for the extraction of shikimic acid from chinese star anise and its purification and determination over the last decade.