HPTLC Fingerprint Profile and Isolation of Marker Compound of Ruellia tuberosa

The present study was aimed to identification, isolation, and quantification of marker in R. tuberosa (Acanthaceae). HPTLC fingerprinting was carried out for various extract of root, stem, and leaf of R. tuberosa. From the HPTLC fingerprint the florescent band (under 366？nm) at : 0.56 (mobile phase chloroform？:？toluene？:？ethyl acetate (6？:？3？:？1, v/v)) was found in leaf, root, and stem of R. tuberosa. So, the florescent band (under 366？nm) at : 0.56 was isolated as marker compound RT-F2 from root of R. tuberosa. The marker compound RT-F2 was quantified by using HPTLC technique. The percentage (W/W) amount of RT-F2 was found to 40.0% and 44.6% in petroleum ether and ethyl acetate extract of R. tuberosa roots, respectively. Further study is suggested to characterization and biological nature of marker compound. 1. Introduction Marker compound means chemical constituents within a medicinal that can be used to verify its potency or identity. For sometimes, the marker compounds may be described as active ingredients or chemicals that confirm the correct botanical identity of the starting material. It is very difficult to identify correct marker compounds for all traditional medicinals, because some medicinals have unknown active constituents and others have multiple active constituents. A chromatographic fingerprint of a herbal medicine is a chromatographic pattern of the extract of some common chemical components of pharmacologically active and/or chemical characteristics. By using chromatographic fingerprints, the authentication and identification of herbal medicines can be accurately conducted even if the amount and/or concentration of the chemically characteristic constituents is not exactly the same for different samples of drug. Hence it is very important to obtain reliable chromatographic fingerprints that represent pharmacologically active and chemically characteristic component of the herbal drug [1–5]. Ruellia tuberosa is an erect, suberect, or diffuse perennial herb up to 60–70？cm tall herb and belongs to family Acanthaceae, a native of Central America, introduced into Indian garden as ornament. It is used medicinally in West Indies, Central America, Guiana, and Peru. R. tuberosa is commonly known as “Cracker plant” [6–8]. In Siddha system of medicine, leaves are given with liquid copal as remedy for gonorrhea and ear diseases [9], used in stomach cancer [10]. Dried and ground roots in dose of two ounces cause abortion and also used in sore eyes [11]. The herb also exhibits emetic activity and employed substitute of ipecac, also used in bladder