Liquid chromatography techniques for separation of flavonoids from Droseraceae

Flavonoids which are presented in insectivorous plants of the Droseraceae family have wide range of advantageous properties i.e. an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities, antitumor activity was reported as well.

The purpose of the research was to develop the most favourable conditions for liquid chromatographic separation and identification of myricetin and quercetin in extracts of insectivorous plants. In the research a methanol and chloroform extracts of the Drosera binata Labill., Drosera capensis L., Drosera aliciae Raym.-Hamet and Dionea muscipula Ellis cultivated in vitro were used. In the first stage of the research an optimal composition of the eluent for selective separation of the components included in the extracts was selected. The thin layer chromatography (TLC) in the reversed phase and hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) conditions was used for selection of optimal chromatographic systems. In the second stage of the research a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in RP and HILIC optimal conditions was used for detailed characteristic of analysed mixtures.

The results show that thin layer chromatography is helpful technique for pre selection components of the eluent to separation of the flavonoids from complex herbal matrix. In the paper there is reported that application gradient elution is more preferable than isocratic elution in HPLC techniques.

Acknowledgement: State Commitee for Scientific Research, Grant No N N405 3757 37. This research work was supported by the European Union in the framework of the European Social Fund. The system project of the Pomorskie Voivodeship „InnoDoktorant – Scholarships for PhD students, II edition“.