MICELLAR ELECTROKINETIC CAPILLARY CHROMATOGRAPHY OF LIMONOID GLUCOSIDES FROM CITRUS SEEDS

This report presents the results of an investigation into the applicat ion of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) for the analysis of limonoid glucosides in a citrus seed extract. MECC based on sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) was used to provide highly efficient separations of the closely related structures. A phosphate-borate buff er containing SDS was used to optimize the separation conditions for a mixture containing standard compounds of the glucosides of limonin, o bacunone and nomilin. The study showed that MECC analysis of limonoid glucosides requires minimal sample clean-up steps and achieves excelle nt separations within a relatively short analysis time. The technique developed was used to quantify two limonoid glucosides in a methanol e xtract of the seeds of Citrus nobilis (nartjie) and Citrus limon (lemo n).