Resolving Identification Issues of from Its Adulterant and Commercial Samples Using Phytochemical Markers.

Unlabelled: (Roxb.) De Wilde (Ashoka) is a highly valued endangered medicinal tree species from Western Ghats of India. Besides treating cardiac and circulatory problems, provides immense relief in gynecological disorders. Higher price and demand, in contrast to the smaller population size of the plant, have motivated adulteration with other plants such as (Sonnerat) Thwaites. The fundamental concerns in quality control of arise due to its part of medicinal value (Bark) and the chemical composition. Phytochemical fingerprinting with proper selection of analytical markers is a promising method in addressing quality control issues. In the present study, high-performance liquid chromatography of phenolic compounds (gallic acid, catechin, and epicatechin) coupled to multivariate analysis was used. Five samples each of , from two localities alongside five commercial market samples showed evidence of adulteration. Subsequently, multivariate hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis was established to discriminate the adulterants of . The proposed method ascertains identification of from its putative adulterant and commercial market samples. The data generated may also serve as baseline data to form a quality standard for pharmacopoeias.

Summary: Simultaneous quantification of gallic acid, catechin, epicatechin from by high-performance liquid chromatographyDetection of from adulterant and commercial samplesUse of analytical method along with a statistical tool for addressing quality issues. HPLC: High Performance Liquid Chromatography; RP-HPLC: Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography; CAT: Catechin; EPI: Epicatechin; GA: Gallic acid; PCA: Principal Component Analysis.