Caralluma fimbriata, Fam. Asclepiadaceae, is a succulent plant and plants from Caralluma genus occur throughout Africa, and Asia, majority being indigenous to the Indian
subcontinent and Arabian peninsula. Recently it has gained popularity as a weight-loss
dietary supplement [1]. An HPLC method with UV detection for analysis of five pregnane
compounds from Caralluma fimbriata was developed. The simultaneous chromatographic separation of the five compounds
was achieved with a Gemini NX reversed phase C18 column, using gradient mobile phase
of water and acetonitrile, both containing 0.1% acetic acid, aided with a detection
using a PDA detector. This method was applied to the fingerprint identification of
three plant materials of C. fimbriata and seven dietary supplements containing C. fimbriata. The five pregnane derivatives, boucerin (1), caraumbelloside I (2), caraumbelloside III (3), caraumbelloside II (4) and caraumbellogenin (5) have been quantitatively identified in the plant extracts. The limit of detection
(LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ) were in the range from 1–5 µg/mL, and 3–15 µg/mL
for compounds 1–5, respectively. This method also provides a distinction between the chromatographic
profiles of Caralluma, Hoodia, and Opuntia spp., and thus can be aptly employed to distinguish between these plant materials or the
botanical products thereof. In the ES positive ion mode, the [M+Na]+ ions at m/z 373.23, 679.33, 841.41, 517.27 and 355.22 were observed for compounds 1–5. Acknowledgements: This research is funded in part by “Science Based Authentication of Dietary Supplements”
Funded by the Food and Drug Administration grant number 2 U01 FD 002071-07. References: [1] Kuriyan RT, et al. (2007) Appetite, 48: 338–344.
Fig. 1 Comparison of HPLC profiles of mixed standards (A); Caralluma fimbriata extract (B) and plant material (C), Hoodia gordonii (D) at wavelength 205 nm. (1) Boucerin, (2) Caraumbelloside I, (3) Caraumbelloside
II, (4) Caraumbelloside II, (5) Caraumbellogenin.
