FREE RADICAL SCAVENGING CAPACITY OF PAPAVER SOMNIFERUM L. AND DETERMINATION OF PHARMACOLOGICALLY ACTIVE ALKALOIDS USING CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

The free radical generation is related to the oxidation process in biological systems as well as in foods. It was found that oxidation is affected by antioxidants that can act as radical scavengers. Objective of the present work was to study the free radical scavenging capacity of opium poppy (Papaver somniferum L.) extract by using the DPPH test and to verify the suitability of the micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MEKC) technique for analytical assessment and determination of three major poppy alkaloids (thebaine, morphine and papaverine). Because of its generally high separation efficiency, the MEKC is successfully used for analytical evaluation of biologically active substances usually without special claims for sample preparation. The results of DPPH test have shown that poppy contains components capable of terminating free radicals. We have confirmed that nature of the solvent used for the electrophoretic medium in MEKC has a strong influence on the separation efficiency. In our experiments, the most effective solvent was mixture of water to acetonitrile (ratio 4:6).