Improved high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of khellin and visnagin in Ammi visnaga fruits and pharmaceutical formulations.

An improved, simple, selective, and sensitive reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) assay for khellin and visnagin in Ammi visnaga L. fruits was developed by using an internal standardized technique. The HPLC column was a reversed-phase microBondapack C18 column, the mobile phase was water: methanol:acetonitrile (49:49:2), and the flow rate was 1.5 mL/min. Khellin and visnagin were detected and analyzed with a spectrophotometer set at 250 nm. Results of the HPLC analysis indicate a relative standard deviation of less than 0.04%. The analytical procedure was used for the quantification of khellin in various pharmaceutical dosage forms, such as ampules, tablets, and suppositories, with relative standard deviations of 1.2, 1.4, and 1.7%, respectively. As little as 10 ng of khellin or visnagin could be detected accurately in less than 13 min.