Determination of anthraquinones in Frangula alnus by Supercritical Fluid Chromatography.

Anthraquinones are the major bioactive compounds in alder buckthorn, a plant with a long history of use for the treatment of obstipation in European and Asian traditional medicine. As these metabolites are also associated with toxic side effects, reliable analytical techniques for their determination are essential. Previously described methods mainly utilized Liquid Chromatography for this purpose, as the photometric assay described in the current edition of the European Pharmacopoeia lacks selectivity.