SIMULTANEOUS ESTIMATION OF BOSWELLIC ACID AND DIOSGENIN IN POLYHERBAL TRANSDERMAL GEL USING HPTLC

Background: Boswellic acid and diosgenin are important phytoconstituents present in Boswellia serrata and Trigonella foenum-graecum, respectively. Boswellic acid is a pentacyclic triterpenoid whereas diosgenin is a steroidal sapogenin. Traditionally, these plants are used in the treatment of arthritis. In the present study an attempt has been made to develop a simple, precise, rapid, selective and cost-effective high-performance thinlayer chromatographic (HPTLC) method for simultaneous estimation of boswellic acid and diosgenin from polyherbal transdermal gel prepared for the treatment of arthritis. Material and method: The method employed TLC aluminium plates precoated with silica gel 60F254 as the stationary phase. The solvent system consisted of hexane and acetone. Densitometric analysis was carried out in the absorbance mode at 540nm after derivatization for boswellic acid and diosgenin. Result: This system was found to give compact spots for boswellic acid (Rf value of 0.54) and diosgenin (Rf value of 0.64). Response was a linear function of the amount applied to the plate in the ranges 1-6 µg for boswellic acid and diosgenin. The % of boswellic acid and diosgenin from transdermal gel was found to be 99.46% and 98.85% respectively, which was well within the limit. Conclusion: The developed HPTLC method would be an important tool in the quality control method for polyherbal formulations. Keywords: Boswellic acid, Diosgenin, HPTLC, Polyherbal transdermal gel.