Abstract:
Chelidonium majus
is a perennial plant of the Papaveraceae family. This plant has been
known as a rich source of isoquinoline alkaloids, chelidonine, and berberine, which are
pharmaceutically important for th
eir anti
-
cancerous activities. In the current study, four
extraction techniques were compared in terms of their yield potential for chelidonine and
berberine. Afterwards, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with a
photodiode array type of UV/VIS
detector was used for the detection of chelidonine and
berberine from leaves and roots of five ecotypes of
C. majus
during various ontogenetical
stages. Based on our results, ultrasonic procedures and refluxing were the best techniques
for extraction of th
ese alkaloids. HPLC results inferred that chelidonine and berberine
content of ecotypes belonging to the Northern provinces of Iran, i.e. Mazandaran
(IBRCP1006619) and Gorgan (IBRCP1006625), were higher than the other ecotypes.
Generally, the roots of the
C. majus
were the most suitable organ for extraction of
chelidonine at the generative stage, while at the vegetative stage, leaves are the most
suitable organ for extraction of berberine.
Keywords:
Extraction techniques,
Generative stage,
Isoquinoline alk
aloids
,
Vegetative stage.
