HPTLC AND REFLECTANCE MODE DENSITOMETRY OF ANTHOCYANINS IN MALVA-SILVESTRIS L - A COMPARISON WITH GRADIENT-ELUTION REVERSED-PHASE HPLC

Aqueous alcoholic mallow flower extracts were analyzed both by HPTLC-d ensitometry in the reflectance mode at 530 nm and by reversed-phase HP LC with gradient elution. For the mallow flower anthocyanins the best chromatographic resolution was obtained by HPLC, which revealed only t wo main compounds, confirmed by FAB-MS: malvidin 3,5-O-diglucoside (ma lvin) and malvidin 3-O-(6 ''-O-malonylglucoside)-5-O-glucoside. The HP TLC densitometric method on cellulose plates provides accuracy, reprod ucibility and selectivity for the quantitative analysis of the anthocy anins and this method was shown to be much more sensitive than the HPL C-DAD system, at 530 nm. Both methods give comparable quantitative res ults for total anthocyanins when applied to mallow flowers from two di fferent sources: Italy and Albania.