Development and Validation of an HPLC-DAD Analysis for Flavonoids in the gel of Scutia buxifolia

Recent interest in flavonoids has increased greatly due to their biological and pharmacological activities. Flavonoids consist of a large group of low molecular weight polyphenolic substances, naturally occurring in fruits, vegetables and tea, and are an integral part of the human diet. Quercetin and rutin are bioactive markers of Scutia buxifolia and no analytical methods reported so far, associated with quality control of polyherbal formulations containing this species. Therefore, there is a need to develop a sensitive, simple, rapid and reliable method that can simultaneously determine these markers in their combinations. A high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed and validated as per ICH guidelines. The chromatographic analysis was performed using a C-18 column, the mobile phase system consisted of acetonitrile-water (70 : 30, v/v) containing 0.5% (v/v) phosphoric acid and quercetin and rutin were quantificadoa to 356 nm. The proposed method for the quantification of quercetin and rutin in the S. buxifolia fraction (EaSb) and gel was linear, sensitive, precise, specific, accurate and robust. This validated method can be used to control the quality of the EaSb and the gel.