Standardisation and Quality Control of Herbal Drugs-1. TLC Fluorodensitometric Determination of Marker Compounds of Plumbago indica L

Objective: Develop a method to quantify a mixture of isoshinanolone and epi- isoshinanolone (ISMIX) as a specific marker for Plumbago indica L. in a commercial herbal drug, "Dasamoolarishtaya" (DMA). Materials and Methods: The ISMIX content in different DMA samples were analyzed by TLC fluorodensitometry. Isoshinanolone isolated from the ischolar_main of P.indica was used as the standard. The precision and accuracy of the method were determined. Results: The concentrations of ISMIX in different samples of DMA varied widely from < 0.0012 mg/ml (detection limit of method) to 0.045 mg/ml. The precision was 1.52 % CV (n = 4) and recoveries of 99.2 - 100.8 % were obtained in standard addition recovery experiments. Conclusions: The method described is inexpensive, rapid and is of acceptable precision and accuracy for routine quality control work.