Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic ... - Capacity4Dev
Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic ... - Capacity4Dev
Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic ... - Capacity4Dev
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EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS<br />
ent lots or from different manufacturers are used, when there is a slight variation<br />
in pH or composition of the mobile phase, or when temperature <strong>and</strong><br />
fl ow rate vary. Steps of extraction, purifi cation or enrichment of an analyte<br />
in herbal material should be simple <strong>and</strong> time effective. Solutions used in<br />
the analysis should be stable over a reasonable period of time. Lastly, the<br />
procedure should be feasible in most laboratories.<br />
If measurements are prone to variations with small changes in<br />
the test conditions then such conditions should be suitably controlled or a<br />
precautionary statement should be included in the procedure.<br />
14.4 Thin Layer Chromatography in Quality<br />
Control of Plant Products<br />
Thin layer chromatography (TLC), also called planar chromatography,<br />
is a widely accepted <strong>and</strong> extensively used separation technique that<br />
is over 65 years old. The technique is simple, cost effective, versatile, <strong>and</strong><br />
useable in all laboratories around the globe. It can be easily adapted to any<br />
given situation of qualitative, quantitative or preparative separation. Despite<br />
the great variety <strong>and</strong> complete automation of the technique, it still lags behind<br />
other chromatographic techniques when it comes to its use as analytical<br />
technique. However, there is no substitute <strong>for</strong> this technique <strong>for</strong> situations<br />
requiring qualitative analyses of plant extracts. TLC has nearly become indispensable<br />
<strong>for</strong> the st<strong>and</strong>ardization of plant materials, be it the fingerprint<br />
profiling or analysis of a marker. The advantages of the technique over other<br />
analytical techniques are many when h<strong>and</strong>ling plant materials. The samples<br />
can be applied without undertaking tedious, time-consuming processes of<br />
sample preparation. The loss in sensitivity is far compensated by the gain on<br />
several fronts, including ease of assays, multiple sample analyses <strong>and</strong> low<br />
cost per sample.<br />
The two prominent uses of TLC in the st<strong>and</strong>ardization of plant<br />
materials include fi ngerprint profi ling <strong>for</strong> the assessment of chemical constituents<br />
of a drug <strong>and</strong> quantitative analysis of markers in plant drugs. A<br />
typical TLC procedure involves sample preparation, selection of the chromatographic<br />
layer <strong>and</strong> the mobile phase, sample application, development<br />
<strong>and</strong> drying of the plate, derivatization (if required) <strong>and</strong> chromatogram evaluation.<br />
14.4.1 Sample Preparation<br />
Methods of sample preparation <strong>for</strong> fi ngerprinting <strong>and</strong> estimation<br />
of marker differ signifi cantly. Whereas in fi ngerprinting, only proportionate<br />
quantities of components must be extracted, in assaying the marker<br />
complete <strong>and</strong> exhaustive extraction has to be ensured. Correspondingly,<br />
particle size of the crude drug, the solute-solvent ratio, extraction period <strong>and</strong><br />
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