6-Shogaol is isolated from the dried or cooked rhizomes or roots of the plant Zingiber officinale (ginger). It is a perennial reed-like plant with annual leafy stems, about a meter (3 to 4 feet) tall. 6-Shogaol is a dehydrated 6-gingerol molecule that has lost a molecule of water during the drying or cooking process.
Ginger produces clusters of white and pink flower buds that bloom into yellow flowers. Because of its aesthetic appeal and the adaptation of the plant to warm climates, ginger is often used as landscaping around subtropical homes. Traditionally, the root is gathered when the stalk withers; it is immediately dried, scalded, or washed and scraped, to kill it and prevent sprouting.
6-Shogaol is isolated from dried or cooked ginger root using ethanol and other organic solvents followed by chromatographic purification. Aphios isolates 6-shogaol utilizing near-critical and supercritical fluids using CXF and CXP enabling technology platforms as alternatives to ethanol and conventional organic solvents techniques.