Simultaneous Quantification of Glycyrrhetinic acid and Apigenin using HPTLC from Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn

Glycyrrhiza glabra Linn. commonly known as Mulethi was employed medicinally as an expectorant and carminative in ancient times. There are no reports of simultaneous quantification of Glycyrrhetinic acid and Apigenin from this plant. Hence a TLC densitometric method was developed and validated for quantification of these marker compounds. Glycyrrhetinic acid and Apigenin were quantified from 2N methanolic-HCl extract and methanolic extract respectively using the Solvent System of Ethyl Acetate: Ethanol: Water: Ammonia (6.3: 2: 0.4: 0.1 v/v). The method was validated using ICH guidelines in terms of precision, repeatability and accuracy. Linearity range for Glycyrrhetinic acid and Apigenin was found to be 160 to 960 ng spot^-1 and 32 to 96 ng spot^-1 respectively; and the content of Glycyrrhetinic acid and Apigenin was found to be 0.65 ± 0.059% and 0.0074 ± 0.0004% respectively. This simple, precise and accurate method gave good resolution from other constituents of extract.