Qualitative and quantitative determination of protopine in Fumaria spp. by TLC-densitometry method

A rapid and accurate TLC-densitometry method for qualitative and quantitative determination of protopine has been developed. The best separation was achieved using a mobile phase chloroform – ethyl acetate – methanol – ammonium hydroxide (80:80:40:0.05, v/v/v/v). The results obtained by this method (CV% 3.4) corresponded well with those obtained by using a HPLC method. The reliability of the proposed method was proved through reproducibility test with alkaloid extracts from Fumaria spp.