The rapid determination of artemisinin by post-column derivatization high-performance liquid chromatography using...

Area of Science:

• Pharmacognosy
• Analytical Chemistry
• Natural Product Chemistry

Background:

• Artemisinin is the key antimalarial compound derived from the medicinal plant Artemisia annua L.
• Efficient extraction and quantification methods are crucial for artemisinin research and production.
• Traditional extraction methods can be time-consuming and solvent-intensive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simple, rapid, and highly efficient method for artemisinin extraction.
• To compare the developed method with conventional extraction techniques.
• To determine the production rate of artemisinin in wild Artemisia annua L. plants.

Main Methods:

• Extraction of artemisinin using matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD).
• Direct analysis of extracted artemisinin via post-column derivatization high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
• Comparison of MSPD with Soxhlet and ultrasonic wave extraction methods using F-test analysis.

Main Results:

• The MSPD method demonstrated no significant difference compared to Soxhlet and ultrasonic wave extractions.
• Recovery rates for artemisinin determination ranged from 88.1% to 91.2%.
• The method achieved limits of detection at 0.1 µg/mL and limits of quantitation at 0.5 µg/mL, with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 4.55-6.43%.

Conclusions:

• Matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) offers a viable, efficient alternative for artemisinin extraction and analysis.
• The developed HPLC method is reliable for quantifying artemisinin in plant material.
• The study provides data on artemisinin production rates in wild Artemisia annua L. over two years.