High-speed extraction and HPLC fingerprinting of medicinal plants - I. Application to Passiflora flavonoids

Abstract

An approach comprising accelerated solvent extraction followed by quantitative HPLC analysis has been adopted in fingerprinting 115 samples of different species of the genus Passiflora. The C-flavonoid glycosides schaftoside (1), isoschaftoside (2), isoorientin (3), orientin (4), isovitexin (5) and vitexin (6) were chosen as analytical standards and their overall prevalence in all samples was determined. The developed HPLC method utilizes gradient elution on an analytical Phenomenex Hypersil ODS column and UV detection at 280 nm. The availability of unique fingerprints, as well as quantitative data, for each species can provide a number of benefits including, but not limited to (a) authentication of samples, (b) determination of chemotaxonomic markers, (c) identification of constituent patterns related to specific geographical locations, (d) supportive data in genetic studies, (e) identifying possible substitutes for Passiflora incarnata, (f) differentiating between closely related species, and (g) relating biological activities to phytochemical profiles.