title: TLC-densitometric analysis of artemisinin for the rapid screening of high-producing plantlets of Artemisia annua L.
abstract: A simple TLC-densitometric technique has been developed for the rapid and accurate analysis of artemisinin in a large number of Artemisia annua plantlets cultured in vitro. This new analytical method is based on the structural conversion of artemisinin on a silica gel layer by ammonia vapour to form 10-azadesoxyartemisinin, a chromophore-containing compound (lambdamax 320 nm) that can be detected by UV-based TLC densitometry. The TLC system was evaluated quantitatively in terms of product stability, precision, accuracy and calibration. Good linearity was obtained in the range of 0.01-0.12 microg artemisinin. The technique appeared to be accurate and sensitive as compared with the complicated pre-column reaction-HPLC technique. Among 90 samples of A. annua plantlets, the artemisinin content in the leaves appeared to be highly variable, ranging from 0.02 to 0.67% w/w dry weight. These results demonstrate that densitometric TLC can be a cheap and simple technique for the accurate screening of high-artemisinin-producing plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.
authors.forename: Thongchai
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koobkokkruad
authors.forename: Araya
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chochai
authors.forename: Chalermpol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kerdmanee
authors.forename: Wanchai
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: De-Eknamkul
mesh_terms: D031172:Artemisia annua / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D037621:Artemisinins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer / Q000379:methods*; D003720:Densitometry / Q000379:methods*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D037621:Artemisinins; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; C031327:artemisinin