DEVELOPMENT OF CHEMICAL FINGERPRINTS TO DIFFERENTIATE THE CONTROVERSIAL INDIAN HERBAL DRUGS ECLIPTA PROSTRATA AND WEDELIA CALENDULACEA (BHRINGRAJA)
January 2017
in “
Bulletin of Pharmaceutical Research
”
TLDR Chemical fingerprints can distinguish Eclipta prostrata from Wedelia calendulacea to prevent confusion and adulteration.
The study developed chemical fingerprints to differentiate between the herbal drugs Eclipta prostrata and Wedelia calendulacea, both known as Bhringraja, which were often confused and adulterated in the Indian herbal market. Various analytical techniques, including phytochemical analysis, UV-Visible, FT-IR and NMR spectroscopy, HPTLC, and HPLC chromatography, were employed. The analysis revealed that W. calendulacea had a higher level of total phenolic compounds (381.82 mg GAE/100 g) compared to E. prostrata (105 mg GAE/100 g). Differences were observed in UV-Visible spectroscopy at 250-450 nm, FT-IR spectroscopy at 400-1000 cm-1, and NMR spectroscopy at 1-2 ppm. The HPTLC profile showed 9 peaks for E. prostrata and 12 peaks for W. calendulacea. These chemical profiles were intended to help differentiate the two plants and prevent adulteration in the herbal industry.
