Determination of Heraclenin and Heraclenol in Heracleum candicans D.C. by TLC

A simple TLC method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of heraclenin and heraclenol in the roots of Heracleum candicans D.C. The analytes were separated on silica gel F₂₅₄ plates with toluene:ethyl acetate (7:3) and scanned using densitometry at 366 nm. The method was validated in terms of precision, repeatability and accuracy. The linear range for heraclenin was found to be 4 - 10 μg per spot with correlation coefficient of 0.997 while for heraclenol it was 1–5 μg per spot with a correlation coefficient of 0.985. The two compounds were quantified in different samples of H. candicans and were found to be present in the range of 1.02 – 1.36% and 0.29 – 0.43% w/w. The method was found to be very simple, accurate, precise and economical and can be used for routine quality control.