IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTIFICATION OF AMINO ACIDS FROM MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT PLANTS BY USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE THIN-LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY

Abstract

The present paper deals with simultaneous identification and quantitative determination of five amino acids, viz., L-lysine, L-threonine, L-valine, L-isoleucine, and L-tryptophan using high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) technique in five different medicinal plants, viz., Amoora rohitaka (Roxb.), Adiantum capillus-veneris, Sphaeranthus hirtus Willd., Swertia chirata (Wall.), and Malaxis acuminata. The separation was performed on TLC aluminium plates precoated with silica gel 60 F254. Good separation was achieved in the mobile phase of 1-butanol/glacial acetic acid/water (4:2:2) and densitometric determination of these compounds was carried out at 254 nm in absorbance mode. The results provide valuable information about the presence of essential amino acids. Threonine is found in all the analyzed samples in the range of 145 ng/spot to 343 ng/spot. Adiantum capillus-veneris contains the highest amount of amino acid (1.57 mg/g) among the plants under study.