Rosmarinic acid monitoring in medicinal herbs of Lamiaceae family by capillary electrophoresis

ARCE, SILVIA; ACOSTA, GIMENA; MARTINEZ, LUIS DANTE; ORTEGA, CLAUDIA; GOMEZ, MARIA ROXANA

Mendoza, Argentina

Congreso; XXVIII Reunión Científica Conjunta de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2010

Rosmarinic acid (RA) is an ester of caffeic acid and 3,4-dihydroxyphenyllactic acid and is a common constituent of the Lamiaceae family.  Adstringent, antioxidative, antiinflammatory, antimutagen, antibacterial and antiviral activities were reported for RA. Therefore, its quantification may be a tool for the quality control assays of vegetal drugs because of its chemotaxonomic significance in the family. For this reason, a capillary electrophoresis (CE) method was developed for the RA monitoring in medicinal herbs commercialized in the local market belonging to Lamiaceae. The electrophoretic analysis was applied to the separation and simultaneous determination of RA in presence of related compounds. The analysis time was less than 12 minutes and RA was found in Rosmarinus officinalis, Origanum vulgare, Salvia officinalis, Hyssopus officinalis, Lavandula officinalis, Ocimum basilicum and Mentha sp, samples in several concentration levels. By the other hand, RA was not detected in Thymus vulgaris and Marrubium vulgare samples. The aim of this work is to propose a fast, accurate and reliable way for RA monitoring in drug herbs of Lamiaceae family by CE. Also, the present method represents a useful tool for the routine quality control of medicinal herbal drugs.