HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHIC METHOD FOR THE ANALYSIS OF ANTHRAQUINONE GLYCOSIDES AND AGLYCONES IN MADDER ROOT (RUBIA-TINCTORUM L.)

A HPLC method has been developed for the simultaneous characterisation of anthraquinone glycosides and aglycones in extracts of Rubia tincto rum L. The anthraquinones are separated on an end-capped C-18-RP colum n with a water-acetonitrile gradient as eluent and measured with UV de tection at 250 nm. With this method the glycosides lucidin primeverosi de and ruberythric acid and the aglycones lucidin, alizarin, purpurin, quinizarin and 2,6-dihydroxyanthraquinone can be analysed. Lucidin wh ich is not commercially available was synthesised starting from resorc inol and phthalic anhydride. The glycosides ruberythric acid and lucid in primeveroside are commercially available as a mixture and were sepa rated by droplet counter-current chromatography in ascending flow with chloroform-methanol-water as eluents prior to their use as standards. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.