High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Quantification of Some Essential Oils from Anethum graveolens Extracts

A high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method has been established for the analysis of a-phellandrene and beta-pinene from dill (Anethum graveolens L.) extracts obtained by different extraction techniques and with different solvents and solvent mixtures. The HPTLC analyses were performed in a normal chromatographic chamber on silica gel 60 plates, using petroleum etherdichloromethane (30: 70, v/v) as mobile phase. Photodensitometric evaluation of the chromatographic plates was performed at 600 nm after spraying with vanillin reagent. It was also established that the a-phellandrene and beta-pinene extractions depend on the extraction technique and extraction solvent. Taking into account the brief time of extraction and the maximum quantities of a-phellandrene and beta-pinene extracted, the most effective method was ultrasound-assisted extraction with n-hexane-diethyl ether (1: 1, v/v). Studies of selectivity, linearity, limits of detection and quantification, precision, and accuracy were performed for method validation. The obtained results were compared and correlated with extraction method.