Study on the adsorptive catalytic voltammetry of aloe-emodin at a carbon paste electrode

A new catalytic voltammetric method for the determination of anthraqunone medicines at a carbon paste electrode (CPE) was described for the first time. The mechanism of the catalytic reaction was investigated by using linear sweep voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry, constant potential electrolysis and so on. The experiment results indicate that aloe-emodin was efficiently accumulated at a CPE by adsorption. In the following potential scan, aloe-emodin was reduced to homologous anthrahydroquinone compound, then the compound was immediately oxidized to aloe-emodin by the dissolved oxygen, and the aloe-emodin was again reduced at the CPE. As a result, a cyclic catalytic reaction was established. But a reversible redox reaction of aloe-emodin can only be observed at a mercury electrode, no catalytic reaction occurs there. A sensitive catalytic voltammetric peak of aloe-emodin was obtained at about -0.60 V (vs. SCE) in 0.56 mol/L NH₃-NH₄Cl buffer (pH 8.9). The proposed method was applied to the determination of aloe-emodin in the Radix Rhei with satisfactory results. The determination results were in good agreement with reference values obtained by the HPLC. The adsorptive catalytic voltammetry for the determination of organic compound at CPE, chemically modified electrode and other solid electrodes could be significant in the studies on pharmacology, pharmacodynamics, toxicity of medicine, clinical medicine and biochemistry.