Quantification of the two pharmacologically important triterpenes in various plant parts ofDiospyros sylvaticausing validated high-performance thin-layer chromatography

Abstract

In view of high pharmacological significance and urgent need to identify high-yielding plant sources of betulin (1) and betulinic acid (2), quantitative high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) analysis has been done on various parts of Diospyros sylvatica. For separation of both compounds, HPTLC silica gel 60 F254 plates were used with chloroform-methanol-formic acid (98:2:2) as the mobile phase. The method was validated for selectivity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision. While betulin was found in maximum amount in stems (0.08%), betulinic acid accumulates maximally in roots (0.29%). The developed HPTLC method is simple, rapid, and highly suitable for the quantification of betulin and betulinic acid in various related species and genera.