Department of Analytical and Toxicological Chemistry, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, A. Mickeviciaus Str. 9, LT-44307 Kaunas, Lithuania.
Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, National University of Pharmacy, Valentynivska, Str. 4, 461168 Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Molecules. 2022 Jul 3;27(13):4286. doi: 10.3390/molecules27134286.
Saffron is widely cultivated and used as a spice. Recently published data on the chemical composition and pharmacological potential of saffron determine its use in pharmacy and medicine. The proposed high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method allows good separation of 11 analytes. The saffron quality (Iran, Ukraine, Spain, Morocco samples) assessment was based on the European Pharmacopoeia monograph and ISO 3632. The HPTLC method for the safranal, crocin, and picrocrocin quantification was proposed and validated. The crocins content in Ukrainian saffron was from 17.80% to 33.25%. Based on qualitative and quantitative assessment results, the saffron sample from Zaporizhzhia (Ukraine) had the highest compounds content and was chosen to obtain the working standards of picrocrocin and crocins (-4GG, -2G, -3Gg) by preparative chromatography. The compounds were isolated from lyophilized extract of saffron using a Symmetry Prep C column (300 × 19 mm × 7 µm), and identified by spectroscopic techniques (HPLC-DAD, UPLC-ESI-MS/MS). The purity of crocins and picrocrocin was more than 97%. A novel method proposed to obtain working standards is simple and reproducible for the routine analysis of saffron quality control.
藏红花被广泛种植和用作香料。最近公布的有关藏红花的化学成分和药理学潜力的数据决定了其在药学和医学中的应用。所提出的高效薄层色谱（HPTLC）方法可实现 11 种分析物的良好分离。藏红花质量（伊朗、乌克兰、西班牙、摩洛哥样品）评估基于欧洲药典专论和 ISO 3632。提出并验证了用于测定藏红花醛、藏红花素和西红花酸的 HPTLC 方法。乌克兰藏红花中的藏红花素含量为 17.80%至 33.25%。基于定性和定量评估结果，来自扎波罗热（乌克兰）的藏红花样品具有最高的化合物含量，并被选择通过制备色谱法获得西红花酸和藏红花素（-4GG、-2G、-3Gg）的工作标准品。使用 Symmetry Prep C 柱（300×19mm×7µm）从冻干藏红花提取物中分离出化合物，并通过光谱技术（HPLC-DAD、UPLC-ESI-MS/MS）进行鉴定。藏红花素和西红花酸的纯度均大于 97%。所提出的获得工作标准品的新方法简单且可重现，适用于藏红花质量控制的常规分析。
