Abstract
BackgroundGloriosa superba L. (Colchicaceae) is a high-value medicinal plant indigenous to Africa and Southeast Asia. Its therapeutic benefits are well-established in traditional medicines including Ayurveda. It is well known for its natural bioactive compound colchicine which exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities i.e. rheumatism, gout and was also introduced into clinical practices. The increasing demand as well as its illegal harvesting has brought this valuable plant under threatened category.MethodsThe present investigation describes a microwave assisted extraction (MAE) strategy coupled with a densitometric-high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) methodology for the analysis of colchicine from 32 different populations of G. superba. A Box-Behnken statistical design (3 level factor) has been employed to optimize MAE, in which power of microwave, time of irradiation, aqueous ethanol and pH were used as independent variables whereas colchicine was used as the dependent variables. Chromatography was carried out on Silica gel 60 F254 TLC plates with toluene: methanol, 85:15 (v/v) being used as solvent system. Densitometric measurement was performed at λ=254 nm following post-derivatization (10% methanolic sulphuric acid).ResultsOptimal conditions for extraction to obtain the maximum colchicine yield was found to be 7.51 mg g− 1 which was very close to be predicted response 7.48 mg g− 1 by maintaining microwave power (460 W), irradiation time (6.4 min), aqueous ethanol-30, pH -3. Colchicine content ranged between 2.12–7.58 mg g− 1 among 32 G. superba populations in which only three chemotypes viz. GS- 1, GS- 3, and GS- 2 collected from West Bengal and Sikkim, respectively exhibited maximum yield of colchicine.ConclusionTherefore, this newly developed optimized MAE coupled with HPTLC densitometry methodology not only quantifies colchicine in order to identify elite chemotypes of G. superba, but it also encourages in selecting high yielding populations of the plants for industrial use and economic boost for the farmers. This validated, simple and reproducible HPTLC protocol is being used for the first time to estimate colchicine from natural populations of G. superba obtained from 32 different geographical regions of India.Graphical abstract
Highlights
Gloriosa superba L. (Colchicaceae) is a high-value medicinal plant indigenous to Africa and Southeast Asia
Conclusion: this newly developed optimized microwave assisted extraction (MAE) coupled with high performance thin layer chromatographic (HPTLC) densitometry methodology quantifies colchicine in order to identify elite chemotypes of G. superba, but it encourages in selecting high yielding populations of the plants for industrial use and economic boost for the farmers
This validated, simple and reproducible HPTLC protocol is being used for the first time to estimate colchicine from natural populations of G. superba obtained from 32 different geographical regions of India
Summary
Gloriosa superba L. (Colchicaceae) is a high-value medicinal plant indigenous to Africa and Southeast Asia. (Colchicaceae) is a high-value medicinal plant indigenous to Africa and Southeast Asia. Its therapeutic benefits are well-established in traditional medicines including Ayurveda It is well known for its natural bioactive compound colchicine which exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities i.e. rheumatism, gout and was introduced into clinical practices. (Family: Colchicaceae) (Fig. 1a) is herbaceous perennial semi-woody climber [1] native of tropical Asia and Africa. It is found growing all over tropical India at an altitude of 2120 meters from the North West Himalaya to Assam and the Deccan peninsula. G. superba is considered as cash crop like sugarcane and cotton due to its high returns. In 2019, the average net return per acre of the G. superba cultivation was reported about Rs. 1,499,002 per acre per crop [5]
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