Quantitative determination of ruscogenin in Ruscus species by densitometric thin-layer chromatography

A densitometric t.l.c. method of quantitative determination of ruscogenin was elaborated. After separation with the aid of t.l.c., the colourless ruscogenin spots were located with the aid of a p-dimethyl-aminobenzaldehyde solution and were submitted to densitometry. It was found that under the selected conditions a linear dependence exists between the betaI% value and lgC within the range of 0.5--10 mug ruscogenin. The determination of ruscogenin is done in the presence of the remaining components of the sample. The method is free of any systematic error. The method was applied in the determination of the ruscogenin content of the above-ground and underground part of Ruscus aculeatus and R. hypoglossum, extracts of the same plants, and capsules with further to the R. aculeatus extract also contained bioflavonoids. It was found that the content of ruscogenin in the underground and the above-ground parts of R. hypoglossum is 0.14 and 0.10%, respectively, while for R. aculeatus the respective values are 0.12 and 0.08%. The extract contains 1.6% ruscogenin, and the capsules 0.09 mg each.