Optimization of the chromatographic determination of polyphenols in the aerial parts of Cichorium intybus L.

The aim of this work was to contribute to the phytochemical characterizatio n of Cichorium intybus L. var. silvestre, chicory Semi-preparative HPLC ana lysis was applied to an extract of fresh wild chicory leaves to separate an d collect the main polyphenolic compounds. HPLC-diode-array detection (DAD), HPLC-MS, and NMR were used for the comple te chemical characterization of all the compounds isolated. The molecules c haracterized were monocaffeoyl tartaric acid, chicoric acid, monocaffeoyl p -hydroxycinnamoyl tartaric acid, caffeoyl feruloyl tartaric acid, chlorogen ic acid, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide, and quercetin -3-O-glucoside. The chromatographic behaviour of the main components of the extract of the leaves has been compared on three different stationary phases - LiChrosorb RP18, Luna C-18, and Luna Phenyl-Hexyl.