QUANTIFICATION OF Β-AMYRIN IN BAUHINIA RACEMOSA LAM. FLOWER BUDS USING HPTLC

Bauhinia racemosa Lam. is an important plant in Ayurvedic medicine. The flower buds and their Ayurvedic preparations are well known for anti-inflammatory and anti-ulcer activity. However, still no analytical method has been developed for the identification and quantification of its phytoconstituents. Hence, a study was undertaken with the objective to develop a rapid and precise high performance thin layer chromatography method for the identification and quantification of β-amyrin from Bouhinia racemosa flower buds. Silica gel F254 was used as the stationary phase with a mobile phase consisting of toluene: ethyl acetate (93:07)V/V. The detection of spots was carried out at a visible wavelength by chemical derivatization. The method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision and specificity. The calibration curve was found to be linear between 2 to 20 μg/spot for β-amyrin. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for the β-amyrin was found to be 0.15 and 0.49 μg/spot, respectively. The percentage of β-amyrin ranges from 0.070 to 0.075 percent. The proposed method can be successfully used to determine the β-amyrin content in polyherbal formulations.