Analysis of nordihydroguaiaretic acid in Larrea divaricata Cav. extracts by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

PATRICIA W. STEGE; LORENA L. SOMBRA; ROBERTO C. DAVICINO; ROBERTO A. OLSINA

PHYTOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS

JOHN WILEY & SONS LTD

Año: 2011 vol. 22 p. 74 - 79

0958-0344

Larrea divaricata Cav. is a common shrub, used by the folk medicine to treat a variety ofdiseases. The main product extracted from this bush is nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA),which is a potent antioxidant. In this paper we propose a novel method for the quantification ofNDGA in different extracts of Larrea divaricata. The micellar electrokinetic chromatography(MEKC) method was applied to infusions, decoctions, and ethanolic extracts. The backgroundelectrolyte (BGE) used consisted of 20 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) 10 mM sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) and 10% acetonitrile (ACN). The LOD and LOQ of the NDGA were 4.54 10-4 and 10.6 10-4 mg mL-1, respectively. In this work we found that the concentration of NDGA was within the nontoxic limits in the aqueous extracts. This is the first research about thequantification of NDGA using MEKC in extracts of jarilla. The conclusions of this studydemonstrate that most of the plant extracts should be taken carefully, furthermore those whichare used with medicinal purpose.