Natural Product Communications, cilt.5, sa.6, ss.873-876, 2010 (SCI-Expanded)
Lycorine, the most frequent alkaloid found in Amaryllidaceae plants, has been proven to have various biological activities. Therefore, it is important to quantify this compound in Amaryllidacaeae species. In this study, a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method has been used and validated for the determination of lycorine in Amaryllidaceae plants. A simple method for the extraction of lycorine in low-mass plant samples was employed utilizing columns pre-packed with diatomaceous earth (Extrelut®). This method was applied to the aerial parts and bulbs of Sternbergia sicula Tineo ex Guss., S. lutea (L.) Ker-Gawl. ex Sprengel and Pancratium maritimum L. (Amaryllidaceae) collected during two different vegetation periods. The chromatographic separation was performed using an isocratic system with a mobile phase of trifluoroacetic acid-water-acetonitrile (0.01:90:10) applied at a flow rate 1 mL min-1 using diode array detector. Validation procedures showed that the method was specific, accurate and precise. The amount of lycorine in S. sicula samples ranged between 0.10-0.53%, whereas in those of S. lutea and P. maritimum, the range was 0.19-0.40% and 0.05-0.14%, respectively.