Vol. 9, Issue 6, Part B (2024)

Author(s): M Pooja, A Elamaran, M Saravanan, K Vijayakaran, V Ranganathan, K Kannan, P Senthil Kumar, K Venkata Ramana Sai and N Ashwini

Abstract: Boswellia serrata, a renowned medicinal plant, contains bioactive compounds like carvacrol, a monoterpenic phenol. This phenolic compound exhibits potent anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to develop and validate a rapid, sensitive HPTLC method for quantifying carvacrol in Boswellia serrata extracts. The plant materials were procured from the Ethnoveterinary Herbal Garden, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Orathanadu, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, India. The collected plants were washed with running tap water, shade-dried, homogenized, and stored in air-tight containers at 4°C. Extracts were prepared by the Soxhlet method using absolute ethanol as the solvent, and the resulting solutions were used for HPTLC analysis. The method employed a silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ plate as the stationary phase and toluene: ethyl acetate (7:3) as the mobile phase, and densitometric detection at 254 and 366 nm. The method was linear over a range of 100-500 ng/band, with a correlation coefficient of 0.999. The developed method accurately quantified carvacrol in Boswellia serrata extracts (39%). This HPTLC method offers a reliable, efficient tool for quality control and standardization of Boswellia serrata-based herbal products.