Estimation of catechin in Ayurvedic oil formulations containing Acacia catechu

A sensitive, simple, rapid, and efficient HPTLC method was developed and validated for the analysis of catechin in marketed Ayurvedic oil formulations containing Acacia catechu. Chromatography of methanolic-0.1% formic acid (7:3, v/v) extracts of these formulations was performed on silica gel 60 F254 aluminum-backed TLC plates of 0.2 mm layer thickness. The plate was developed up to 85 mm with the ternary-mobile phase chloroform-acetone-0.1% formic acid (7.7 + 1.5 + 0.8%, v/v/v) at 22 +/- 2 degrees C with 20 min of chamber saturation. The system produced compact spots of catechin at an Rf value of 0.36. The marker, catechin, was quantified at its maximum absorbance of 296 nm. The limit of detection and quantitation values were 6 and 20 ng/spot, respectively. The linear regression analysis data for the calibration plot showed a good linear relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.9993 in the concentration range of 200-1200 ng/spot for catechin with respect to peak area. Repeatability of the method was 0.88% RSD. Recovery values from 97 to 102% indicate excellent accuracy of the method. The developed HPTLC method is accurate, precise, and cost-effective, and it can be successfully applied for the determination of catechin in marketed Ayurvedic oil formulations containing Acacia catechu.