HPTLC Fingerprinting Profile of Vacha (Acorus calamus Linn.)

Abstract

Introduction: Vacha (Acorus calamus Linn.) commonly called Sweet flag is a significant herb with well-recognized  therapeutic potential. Choorna (powder) of its rhizome is the commonly used dosage form according to Ayurveda.  High-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) fingerprinting of rhizome powder of Vacha was carried out  to estimate the active constituents in the dosage form choorna. ß-asarone, which is the major phytoconstituent of  rhizome, was used as standard. Materials and Methods: HPTLC plate 5 × 10 cm, pre-coated with silica gel 60 F254 TLC plates, was used as  stationary phase. Toluene: ethyl acetate: acetic acid (90:10:2) was used as mobile phase. Visualization was done  under ultraviolet light 254 nn and 366 nm. Results and Discussion: HPTLC chromatogram showed the presence of 3 comparable peaks at 254 nm and  2 comparable peaks at 366 nm, in methanolic extract of rhizome powder and standard. Conclusion: This approach creates profile analysis of the plant rhizome and can be helpful for quality control and  further researches.