I would really like to understand the fundamentals of each extraction method. Could either method be used to extract any alkaloid. Could someone please explain the concept to me? I searched online but most acid/base extractions that are shown involve the separation of acids.

Thanks to all who reply.

Snozz, as you know, I already saw the post. I was interested in the mechanics of HOW it works and why it works.

How would I know this? (edit: yes, I just saw you posted, but when I first linked the thread, I didn't scroll down to look through all the comments) It seemed relevant given this question:



Just offering a pointer...looks like shaolin gave a more detailed answer.

Then there's always this and the first pdf (which it looks like shaolin already included) and the wikipedia seem to give pretty decent answers to the HOW