[Study on determination methods for abietic acid in fake Myrrha]

Area of Science:

• Pharmacognosy
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Myrrha, a resin used in traditional medicine and perfumery, is susceptible to adulteration.
• Abietic acid is a key marker compound for authenticating Myrrha resin.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a reliable method for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of abietic acid in suspected fake Myrrha samples.
• To establish a benchmark for abietic acid content in authentic Myrrha.

Main Methods:

• Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) for initial identification.
• High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Photodiode Array detection (HPLC-PAD) for quantification.
• High-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS) for confirmation.

Main Results:

• Abietic acid was successfully detected in 18 analyzed batches of suspected fake Myrrha.
• The quantified content of abietic acid ranged from 1.16 to 73.99 mg/g across the positive samples.

Conclusions:

• The developed analytical method is suitable for both the identification and determination of abietic acid.
• This method provides a robust tool for detecting adulteration in Myrrha products.