HPTLC Fingerprinting Profile of Marker Compound (Berberine) in Roots of Berberis aristata DC

A sensitive and reliable densitometric High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography method has been developed for the quantification of berberine, an alkaloid present in roots of Berberis aristata. Chromatographic analysis was performed using methanol extract of roots of Berberis aristata on silica gel 60F254 GLP (E. Merck) plates using the solvent system, n-propanol: formic acid: water (9:01:0.9). Detection and quantification of berberine was done by densitometric scanning at 364 nm. The results of linearity range and correlation coefficient show that there was a good correlation between peak area and corresponding concentration of berberine. The proposed HPTLC method provided a good resolution of berberine from other constituents present in methanol extract of roots of B. aristata and can be used for the quantification of berberine.