Simultaneous quantification of furanocoumarins from Aegle marmelos fruit pulp extract

Aegle marmelos Correa (Rutaceae) is a prominent species in the Sub-Himalayan region, also found in central and south India, and has been widely used as remedy for diarrhea and dysentery. Unripe fruits show antiviral activity and prove to be a potent hypoglycemic agent. In this study, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous quantification of major furocoumarin components marmelosin, psoralen and bergapten in the extract from fruit pulp of A. marmelos has been developed. Components were found in the range of 5-6.5, >0.4-0.75 and >0.25 mg/g of dried fruit weight, respectively. The method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, robustness, limit of detection and limit of quantification. Linearity was determined over the range of 5-40 µg/mL (r > 0.965). Intra- and interday precision showed a relative standard deviation of <2.5%. The accuracy of the method was determined by a spike recovery study, and the average recoveries were 99.46, 101.04 and 100.8% for marmelosin, psoralen and bergapten, respectively. The proposed HPLC method was found to be simple, precise and specific and can be used simultaneously for the routine quality control of raw materials of A. marmelos fruit extracts and their products, and also other products containing these markers.