CHROMATOGRAPHIC DETERMINATION OF CONSTITUENTS OF THE GENUS COLCHICUM (LILIACEAE)

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of colchicinoid alkaloids in plant material is described. The determi nation is performed separately in neutral and basic alkaloid fractions using a C-18-bonded silica column. Nine alkaloids, i.e., 3-demethylco lchicine, 2-demethylcolchicine, colchifoline, N-deacetyl-N-formylcolch icine, colchicine, cornigerine, 2-demethyldemecolcine, 3-demethyldemec olcine and demecolcine, in seven Colchicum plants were assayed. For id entification of phenolic compounds, a method using gas chromatography- mass spectrometry was elaborated and twenty phenolic compounds were id entified in extracts from five Colchicum species. As the presence of l uteolin appeared to be of value for chemotaxonomic purposes, its simpl e densitometric determination was developed.