Quantitative analysis of curcuminoids in Curcuma zedoaria rhizomes in Thailand by HPLC method

Abstract

A high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed and validated for quantitative determination of curcuminoid (curcumin, demethoxy-curcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin) contents in extracts of the rhizomes of Curcuma zedoaria collected from ten locations in Thailand. The analysis was carried out using a BDS Hypersil C18column as a stationary phase, 0.1% glacial acetic acid aqueous solution and acetonitrile as mobile phases. The detection was done at 425 nm. The validation using curcumin, demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxy-curcumin as standards demonstrated good linearity, precision and accuracy at the concentration range of 2-6 μg/ml. The content of curcumin in all powdered samples was in the range of 0.50±0.06 to 0.73±0.03% w/w (average 0.65±0.07% w/w) while the contents of demethoxycurcumin and bisdemethoxycurcumin were in the range of 0.23±0.02 to 1.43±0.55% w/w (average 0.91±0.35% w/w) and 0.12±0.01 to 0.44±0.21% w/w (average 0.25±0.10% w/w), respectively. The highest average total curcuminoid content in the powdered samples was found to be 2.50±0.52% w/w while the lowest content was 1.06±0.31% w/w. This information will be useful as guidance for further standardization of C. zedoaria raw material of which the content has not been reported before.