Microwave-assisted extraction - A promising method for extracting colchicine from flowers of Gloriosa superba L. Babu S. Selva1, Gnanam R.1,*, Jayakanthan M.1, Vali D. Mastan3, Nalina L.3, Rajamani K.2 1Department of Plant Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, TNAU, Coimbatore-641003, Tamil Nadu, India 2Department of Floriculture and Landscape Architecture, HC&RI, TNAU, Coimbatore-641003, Tamil Nadu, India 3Department of Medicinal and Aromatic Crops, HC&RI, TNAU, Coimbatore-641003, Tamil Nadu, India *Corresponding author e-mail: gnanam.r@tnau.ac.in
Online Published on 30 November, 2022. Abstract Colchicine is the chief bioactive phytochemical from Gloriosa superba, which has a medicinal value of historical importance, curing more than 200 human diseases. Due to the over-exploitation owning to various medicinal values, G. superba has become an endangered species. Towards the extraction of bioactive compounds, current conventional methods yield less quantity though the availability of the compound is high within different parts of the plant. In this study, microwaveassisted extraction, an advanced, green extraction method is employed for extraction of colchicine and the yield is compared with the conventional maceration method. Extracts from both the methods were quantified using the validated HPTLC method. Quantification using mobile phase combinations of toluene: ethyl acetate: methanol: ammonia (30:20:20:0.1) produced clear and high-resolution bands for colchicine at Rf of 0.80±0.02. Microwave-assisted extraction method yielded double the quantity of compound (0.56%) in comparison with the conventional maceration method (0.25%) in a short period of time of 15 minutes. The finding of this study reveals the microwave-assisted extraction method as a quick and efficient method for extraction of colchicine from flowers which might facilitate large-scale extraction upon further validation of parameters from different plant parts of gloriosa. Top Keywords Glory lily, Colchicine, Flowers, Microwave-assisted, Maceration, HPTLC. Top |