Pharmacognostical specification and validated high-performance thin-layer chromatographic method for the estimation of quercetin in Phoenix sylvestris root

Abstract

The present study was aimed to assess the scientific appraisal of Phoenix sylvestris in the course of pharmacognostical properties and phytochemical parameters, as this has not been done yet. Pharmacognostic study mainly covered the macroscopic and microscopic features of the roots including powder microscopy and revealed the presence of pitted and spiral xylem vessels, lignified xylem fiber, and brown-colored stone cells. Physicochemical constants such as ash value, extractive value, and fluorescence analysis were assessed in the preliminary physicochemical screening. Qualitative analysis revealed the existence of certain chemical constituents such as flavonoids, tannins, steroids, and phenolic compounds. The crude extract of the root was subjected to high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) for the separation of components. HPTLC analysis was carried out on the methanolic extract of the root by using toluene—ethyl acetate—formic acid acid (5:4:1, v/v) as the mobile phase at 254-nm detection to quantify the amount of quercetin. The calibration range was 50–250 ng per band (r2 = 0.994). The method was accurate in triplicate results at diff erent standard addition levels with average recovery of 99.40% for quercetin. Limits of detection and quantification were calculated as 20.94 ng per band and 43.90 ng per band, respectively. The quantity of quercetin in the methanolic extract was found to be as 3.13 mg g−1. The developed and validated HPTLC method can be used as a tool for standardization of roots in diff erent formulations using quercetin as the marker.