INVESTIGATION OF THE POSSIBILITY OF USING THE METHOD OF DIFFERENTIAL SPECTROPHOTOMETRY FOR THE ANALYSIS OF OVERLAPPING ABSORPTION BANDS OF TRITERPENE SAPONINS CHROMOPHORES AND THEIR QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

Abstract

A detailed analysis of the absorption spectra of mono- and bidesmoside triterpene glycosides was performed. It is suggested that the maximum in the region of 198–208 nm is attributed to the absorption of the double bond in the cyclohexene ring of the aglycone. The second less seen maximum at a wavelength of 280 nm is observed in the spectrum of saponin Quillaja Saponaria and is almost completely absent in the spectrum of saponin Mukorossi Sapindus. Identification of this maximum is extremely difficult, since its presence can be due to both the aldehyde group in the aglycone and the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups in the carbohydrate molecules.
 Using the method of differential spectrophotometry, a method for decomposing the UV spectrum of saponins into its constituent components is proposed and justified. A spectral analysis was performed, including the assignment of the absorption bands to the functional groups of the studied compounds. The possibility of estimating changes in the spectral properties of glycoside solutions with changes in the acidity of the medium is considered. The possibility of a bathochromic shift of the maximum absorption of the aglyconic part of saponin depending on the microenvironment (the structure of the carbohydrate part) and changes in the pH of the solution is established. It is shown that the bands at 274, 280.5 nm correspond to n-π* transitions of carbonyl and carboxyl groups and are determined only in the regions of high concentrations in Quillaja Saponaria saponin solutions. Based on the results obtained, calibration models for the quantitative determination of saponins in solutions are proposed. The regression analysis of the calibration equations is carried out, the main statistical indicators are calculated.