Patent ID: 7081451

Claim:
A method for concentrating and stabilizing mixtures of conjugated estrogens from pregnant mare urine in a decentralized manner that can be carried out in the field, comprising pumping a predetermined maximum total amount of collected liquid pregnant mare urine from a supply vessel at a predetermined flow rate through an upright cartridge containing a solid adsorbent support capable of adsorbing a predetermined quantity of conjugated estrogens such that the adsorbent is surrounded by a flow of the pumped liquid urine, whereby a natural mixture of conjugated estrogens from the urine is concentrated and stabilized by adsorption on said support, wherein the solid adsorbent support is a semipolar polymeric adsorber resin, wherein the maximum total amount of liquid urine pumped through the cartridge is matched to the maximum loading capacity of the adsorbent for conjugated estrogens contained in the liquid urine, and pumping of the liquid urine through the cartridge is ceased at or before maximum loading of the adsorbent with conjugated estrogens is achieved; discarding liquid urine effluent depleted in conjugated estrogens from the cartridge; storing said upright cartridge containing the solid adsorbent support with the concentrated and stabilized natural mixture of conjugated estrogens adsorbed thereon for a storage time period of at least several days; and transporting said upright cartridge containing the solid adsorbent support with the concentrated and stabilized natural mixture of conjugated estrogens from the urine to a processing site where the conjugated estrogens are eluted from the adsorbent.