Isolation of humic acid from the terrestrial plant Brugmansia sanguinea

A brown residue has been isolated from the dried terrestrial plant Brugmansia sanguinea with a standard solvent extraction procedure augmented with removal of alginic acid. The residue is identified as humic acid (HA) by comparison of its analytical, spectroscopic and morphological properties with an International Humic Substance Society standard soil-derived HA and with those of HA isolated from the live marine alga Pilayella littoralis and municipal compost with the same combined procedure.