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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

An Efficient and Rapid HPLC-QQQ-MS Method for the Quantitation of Tropane Alkaloids in Medicinal Plants
Published on: June 12, 2026
Role of advances in chromatographic techniques in phytochemistry
1Laboratory of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, 30 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211, Geneva 4, Switzerland. andrew.marston@pharm.unige.ch
Abstract:
Chromatography is the lynchpin of phytochemistry and is the key to obtaining pure compounds for structure elucidation, for pharmacological testing or for development into therapeuticals. It also plays a fundamental role as an analytical technique for quality control and standardisation of phytotherapeuticals. Although liquid chromatography is barely 100 years old, an extraordinary variety of instrumental and ancillary equipment is available, notably in the domain of high-performance liquid chromatography. It is impossible to touch all areas of chromatography in such a review but certain areas are worthy of mention: HPLC, HPTLC, UPLC and countercurrent chromatography. Another important addition has been the development of hyphenated techniques involving HPLC: LC/UV, LC/MS, LC/MS(n) and LC/NMR. These are indispensable nowadays for the early detection and identification of compounds in crude plant extracts.
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