Abstract:
This research was conducted in order to examine the swertiamarin content in the leaves of F. fragrans using TLC densitometry. The findings were then compared to those obtained using TLC image analysis which applied ImageJ free software. Swertiamarin obtained within an ethanol extract underwent analysis via thin layer chromatography (TLC) with silica gel 60 F254 used for the stationary phase. Furthermore, dichloromethane and methanol (in the ratio of 5:1) were used in the mobile phase. The swertiamarin content was assessed through both TLC densitometry and TLC image analysis. Linear regression analysis revealed linearity in a range of 0.3-1.8 μg/spot, while the coefficients of determination (R2) were found respectively to be 0.9886 and 0.9967 respectively. The relative standard deviation of repeatability and intermediate precisions was between 0.37-9.19 and 0.65-3.32 %RSD respectively. Accuracy levels were confirmed as 83.61-104.82 and 81.3410-1.97 % recovery respectively. The use of small variations in the mobile phase was employed to assess robustness, with values of 1.28 and 0.98 %RSD recorded. LOD (limit of detection) and LOQ (limit of quantitation) were respectively recorded as 0.11, 0.35 and 0.09, 0.26 μg/spot. The swertiamarin content in F. fragrans leaves was found to be 1.44 and 1.34 mg/ 0.5 g respectively. This study provides data towards a fundamental standardization of F. fragrans leaves.