High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully applied to purify ferulic acid from the extracts of Radix Angelicae sinensis, which were extracted by microwave-assisted extraction (MAE). A solvent system consisted of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water (3:7:5:5, v/v) was employed. The purity of ferulic acid was over 98% assayed by HPLC. The optimal extraction conditions can be concluded: 850 W of microwave power, 9 min of irradiation time, 90% of ethanol concentration, 6:1 ratio of liquid/solid, 140 min of herbal material soak time and particle sample size 250 +/- 9.9 mu m, the results showed that microwave-assisted extraction was a promising method for extracting ferulic acid. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.