Quantitation of the alkaloids berberine, palmatine and jatrorrhizine in Mahonia stem by capillary electrophoresis

Many species of the Mahonia plant are used in China as traditional medicines. Some of the active components have been identified as alkaloids and pharmacological research has determined that the plant has antibacterial, antioxidant, antifungal, anticancer and antiproliferative properties. Here we describe the quantitation of three alkaloids in the stem of various mahonia species. CE is particularly suited to the analysis of plant extracts because of its ability to deal with complex or “dirty” sample matrices. Unlike HPLC where the complexity of the sample matrix can affect the column packing, CE operates in an open capillary tube and simple flushing between analyses is sufficient to remove residual matrix components. Authors Carsten Buhlmann, Gordon Ross, Agilent Technologies, Waldbronn, Germany Application Note