Simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analyses of ursolic acid and oleanolic acid in Punica granatum L. (Pomegranate) flowers by high-performance thin-layer chromatography

The effects of pomegranate (Punica granatum) on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A systematic review of in vivo interventional studies

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a disorder in which excess fat accumulates in hepatocytes and can lead to serious complications. Oxidative stress is one of the leading causes of NAFLD. Pomegranates are considered antioxidant-rich fruit. This systematic review study was aimed to investigate the impact of pomegranate on NAFLD. PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases/search engines (from inception up to July 2023) were searched for interventional studies (human and animal) that examined the effects of supplementation with different parts of pomegranate including fruits, peels, seeds, or flower on NAFLD outcomes. A total of 222 articles were retrieved following the initial search. After excluding duplicates, the title and abstract of 114 articles were screened. Afterward, irrelevant articles were removed and the full texts of the remaining 27 articles were reviewed. Eventually, 19 articles (16 animal and three human interventional studies) that met the inclusion criteria, published between 2009 and 2023, were included in this systematic review. Our study indicates the potential beneficial effects of different parts of pomegranate on the improvement of NAFLD. However, given that the majority of the included articles were animal studies, further investigations in the form of human clinical trials are warranted to suggest a clinical indication of such interventions.

Qualitative and Quantitative Analyses of Four Active Components in Different Organs of Salvia Deserta Schang by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

This method aims to analyze rosmarinic acid (RA), caffeic acid (CA), ursolic acid (UA) and oleanolic acid (OA) in different organs of Salvia deserta Schang qualitatively and quantitatively by high-performance thin-layer chromatography. Using chloroform-methanol-formic acid (10: 2: 0.5, v/v/v) as mobile phase and silica gel plate as stationary phase to analyze RA and CA at 330 nm. Using cyclohexane-ethyl acetate-methanol (10: 2: 0.5, v/v/v) as mobile phase and silica gel F254 plate as stationary phase to analyze UA and OA at 550 nm. The linearity ranges of RA, CA, UA and OA were 0.1250-0.4375, 0.0145-0.0870, 0.5000-2.5000 and 0.5000-2.5000 mg, respectively, with corresponding correlation coefficients of 0.9938, 0.9981, 0.9971 and 0.9969, respectively. Good precision, stability, accuracy (recovery rates were between 95 and 105%) of the method were determined. The limits of detection and the limits of quantification of RA, CA, UA and OA were determined, respectively, as 50, 58, 25, 33 and 160, 191, 80, 106 ng. The established method is simple, rapid, effective and can be easily used to determine the contents of RA, CA, UA and OA in different parts of S. deserta Schang.

Significance of Chromatographic Techniques in Pharmaceutical Analysis

This work presents an overview of the modern approaches embracing advanced equipment and validation parameters of both liquid and gas chromatography techniques, including thin-layer chromatography (TLC), column liquid chromatography (CLC), and gas chromatography (GC), suitable for the identification and quantitative determination of various bioactive compounds occurring in pharmaceutical products and medicinal plants in the time from 2020 to 2021 (November). This review confirmed that HPLC is an incredibly universal tool, especially when combined with different detectors, such as UV-Visible spectroscopy, mass spectrometry (MS), and fluorescence detection for numerous active ingredients in different pharmaceutical formulations without interferences from other excipients. TLC, in combination with densitometry, is a very efficient tool for the determination of biologically active substances present in pharmaceutical preparations. In addition, TLC coupled to densitometry and mass spectrometry could be suitable for preliminary screening and determination of the biological activity (e.g., antioxidant properties, thin layer chromatography (TLC) by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method) of plant materials. Gas chromatography, coupled with a mass spectrometer (GC-MS, GC-MS/MS), is of particular importance in the testing of any volatile substances, such as essential oils. LC, coupled to NMR and MS, is the best solution for identifying and studying the structure of unknown components from plant extracts, as well as degradation products (DPs). Thanks to size-exclusion chromatography, coupled to multi-angle light scattering, the quality control of biological pharmaceuticals is possible.

Simultaneous process optimization of ultrasound-assisted extraction of polyphenols and ellagic acid from pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) flowers and its biological activities

This study was designed to optimize the extraction rate of total polyphenols and ellagic acid from pomegranate flowers. Single factors were investigated for liquid-to-material ratio (5-25), ethanol concentration (20%-60%), sonication time (5-60 min), and sonication power (150-500 W). The level range of the Box-Bokhen design was determined with respect to the single-factor results. The components of each index were normalized using the entropy weighting method for obtaining the comprehensive evaluation value. Under the actual conditions, the final optimization results were 17 for liquid-to-material ratio, 43% for ethanol concentration, 10 min for ultrasonic time, and 300 W for ultrasonic power. The extracts obtained under optimal conditions were tested for the inhibition of Streptococcus mutans and its biofilm, and results showed that pomegranate flowers exerted some inhibitory effects on the bacterium. Phosphomolybdenum and FRAP assays were used, and DPPH, ABTS, and O^2- radical scavenging tests were conducted, indicating that pomegranate flower extracts have good antioxidant capacity.