ABSTRACT
Background: The consumption of the fruits of cucurbitaceae plants is widely popular among Indians dueto their various nutritional and medicinal purposes. Some of these plants are well reported in Ayurvedadue to their potential therapeutic importance. In particular, the plants of this family are wellcharacterized by the presence of its bitter principle, Cucurbitacin E which differs within the speciesdue to its genetic variations.Objectives: The objective of the study was to develop a validated RP-HPLC method for standardization insome widely consumed cucurbits with cucurbitacin E as a marker compound.Materials and methods: The RP-HPLC method was developed with a reverse phase C18 column, usingacetonitrile and water (1% glacial acetic acid) as mobile phase (70:30 v/v). The flow rate and lmax wereoptimized at 1 mL/min and 230 nm respectively. The HPLC method was validated in terms of accuracy,specificity, sensitivity, and repeatability as per ICH guideline.Results: The calibration curve was found linear in the concentration range of 1e100 mg/mL. The % RSD ofprecision and recovery was found to be <2%, which confirms high repeatability of the method. The results indicated that the content of cucurbitacin E was highest (0.0663% w/w) in Cucurbita pepo whereasLagenaria siceraria contains the lowest (0.0356% w/w).Conclusion: The study was able to explore the variation of cucurbitacin E content in some selected foodplants of Cucurbitaceae family. The applicability of the method can be established in nutraceutical industry for the effective quality control of cucurbits for safe human consumption.
ABSTRACT
Background: Viscum articulatum Burm. (Family: Loranthaceae) is commonly known as mistletoe. Inayurveda, the plant parts are used in “Kapha”, “Vata”, diseases of the blood, ulcer, and epilepsy. The plantparts are also used in urinary tract infection and wound infection. The plant contains five triterpenoidssuch as a-amyrin, lupeol, betulin, betulinic acid and oleanolic acid, exhibiting several pharmacologicalactivities including antimicrobial, anti-HIV, antitumor, antiviral activity.Objective: To ensure the content of uniformity of oleanolic acid, a RP-HPLC method has been developedfor estimation of oleanolic acid in V. articulatum aerial part.Material and methods: The RP-HPLC method was carried out in reverse phase C18 column, using methanol and water as mobile phase in the ratio of 95:5 (v/v), at the flow rate of 1 mL/min. The pH of aqueousphase was adjusted 3.2 with 1% (v/v) glacial acetic acid. The lmax was set at 210 nm.Results: The retention time of oleanolic acid was found at 21.5 ± 0.05 min. The linearity of the response wasfound to be 10e800 mg/mL. The coefficient of determinants of oleanolic acid was found to be (r2) 0.995 andequation Y ¼ 19462X þ 16,172. The LOD and LOQ were found to be for oleanolic acid (1.96% w/w) 0.197 ± 0.63and 0.623± 0.87 mg/mL, respectively. The developed method was accurate, specific, precise and reproducible.Conclusion: This RP-HPLC may be useful for quantitative estimation of the chemical constituents presentin the plant extract as well as the quality assessment of the herbal product.
ABSTRACT
Traditional systems of medicines need more evidence-based studies on both crude drugs and purified phytomolecules. Utilization of natural products as pharmacological tools could lead to a number of new major therapeutically active metabolites. Lead molecules are further screened for their potential in terms of quality control, safety assessments, and studies about molecular pharmacology and their related properties. Identification, and quality and safety evaluation of natural products, is a fundamental requirement of industry and other organizations dealing with natural health products (NHPs). Marker analysis, based on chemo-profiling and development of characteristic fingerprints for individual plants, could help to develop uniform standardization tools. Beside such evaluations of clinical parameters, safety profiles as well as drug–herb and herb–herb interactions are the most important parameters for assessment and promotion. With the steady growth of the NHPs, advanced analytical- and mechanism-based screening should be considered for their promotion and value addition in every way for the betterment of healthcare. Thus, there is an urgent need for the development of international co-ordination to promote and develop NHPs, including their assessment, perspectives, pharmacovigilance, and potential harmonization of regulation, quality control and clinical uses.