Chromatographic Analysis of Naphthoquinones in Plants

Abstract

The aim of the work was to optimize the high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector for the determination of naphthoquinones (1,4-naphthoquinone, lawsone; juglone and plumbagin). The optimal conditions were: mobile phase 0.1 mol l^-1 acetic acid – methanol (35 : 65 v/v), flow rate 0.8 ml min^-1, column and detector temperature 40 °C. Detection limits (3 S/N) were 65 ng ml^-1, 50 ng ml^-1, 75 ng ml^-1 and 39 ng ml^-1 for lawsone, 1,4-naph¬tho¬qui¬none, juglone and plumbagin, respectively. The optimized method was used for the determination of the mentioned naphthoquinones in plants (Dionaea muscipula, Drosera rotundifolia, Drosera spathulata, Drosera capensis and Paulownia tomentosa).