Medicinal Plants - International Journal of Phytomedicines and Related Industries

High performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method was developed and validated for the determination of two xanthones, 1,2,6,8-tetrahydroxyxanthone (SR1) and 2,8-dihydroxy-1,6-dimethoxyxanthone (SR2) in leaves and rhizomes of Swertia speciosa. The extracts were analyzed on C₁₈ column using an isocratic mobile phase which consists of MeOH and H₂O at the flow rate of 1 ml/min. Identification of xanthone derivatives was done by using UV variable λ detector at 260 nm. The limit of detection obtained for the analytes were in the range of 0.86–2.24 ppm. We had planned to quantify the major bioactives in S. speciosa and to compare their variation with seasons and altitudes. Maximum concentration of SR1 and SR2 was found in S. speciosa rhizomes collected from Hemkund (4000 m high), Uttarakhand, India. Overall, results show that the concentration of bioactives increase with altitude and in samples collected in between Sep.-Oct. which seems to be the period of prime potency and should be the harvesting period.