ANALYTICAL STUDIES OF DL-STYLOPINE IN CHELIDONIUM-MAJUS L USING HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A low-pressure liquid chromatographic method using silica gel 60 with hexane-chloroform-ethyl acetate proportions varying from 80:20:0 to 20:20:8 (v/v/v) as eluent is described for the isolation of dl-stylopine from the flowered aerial parts of Chelidonium majus L. An isocratic high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method using a Superspher Si 60 column with chloroform-methanol (90:10, v/v) containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid as mobile phase and UV detection at 292.5 nm that allows the determination of dl-stylopine in greater celandine is described. The total alkaloid fraction is 0.34% for the flowered aerial parts and 2.17% for the underground parts and the amount of dl-stylopine is 61.3 and 4.9% of the total alkaloid fraction, respectively.