ABSTRACT
Valeriana jatamansi Jones germplasm collected from sub-temperate Himalayan region of Uttarakhand and North-East state of Meghalaya, India was evaluated under identical conditions at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, Bhowali, India, to study germplasm diversity based on essential oil composition. Twenty one compounds were identified in V. jatamansi root oil by GC and GC-MS. The major compounds identified were patchouli alcohol (0.4-63.7%), maaliol (2.9-53.8%), seychellene (4.1-27.4%), calarene/ß-gurjunene (3.0-20.8%), α-santalene (0.6-12.0%). Other compounds present were bornyl acetate (0.6-1.5%), α-guaiene (0.7-2.3%), α-bulnesene/δ-guaiene (0.7-6.3%), 7-epi-α-selinene (0.4-1.4%), kessane (2.1-3.3%), spathulenol (0.7-3.4%), viridiflorol (0.9-7.1%), α-patchoulene (0.8-6.6%), ß-patchoulene (0.4-0.8%). Two superior chemotypes identified in V. jatamansi oil from Uttarakhand were: patchouli alcohol rich (IC573221, 63.7%) and maaliol rich (IC573222, 53.8%; IC589096, 51.7%), while accession from north-east was patchouli alcohol rich chemotype (IC574522, 57.2%). These superior chemotypes with higher amounts of patchouli alcohol and maaliol could be used for promoting cultivation as well as for meeting need of pharmaceutical industries.
ABSTRACT
Mucuna pruriens Linn. is an important medicinal plant used for treatment of Parkinson's disease and many others in ancient Indian medical system. L-DOPA extracted from seeds of Mucuna is a constituent of more than 200 indigenous drug formulations and is more effective as drug than the synthetic counterpart. A densitometric high performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method was developed for quantification of L-DOPA content present in the seeds extract. The method involves separation of L-DOPA on precoated silica gel 60 GF(254) HPTLC plates using a solvent system of n-butanol-acetic-acid-water (4:1:1, v/v) as the mobile phase. Quantification was done at 280 nm using absorbance reflectance mode. Linearity was found in the concentration range of 100 to 1000 ng/spot with the correlation coefficient value of 0.9980. The method was validated for accuracy, precision and repeatability. Mean recovery was 100.89%. The LOD and LOQ for L-DOPA determination were found to be 3.41 ng/spot and 10.35 ng/spot respectively. The proposed HPTLC method was found to be precise, specific and accurate for quantitative determination of L-DOPA. It can be used for rapid screening of large germplasm collections of Mucuna pruriens for L-DOPA content. The method was used to study variation in fifteen accessions of Mucuna germplasm collected from different geographical regions.
