Withania somnifera, also known as Ashwagandha, Indian ginseng and Winter cherry, is commonly used as a domestic remedy for several diseases in India and other parts of the world. To investigate if there is any reality to the supposed benefits researchers have characterized the polyphenols present in extracts to determine if they have any antioxidant effect.
Withania somnifera, also known as Ashwagandha, Indian ginseng and Winter cherry, is commonly used as a domestic remedy for several diseases in India and other parts of the world. To investigate if there is any reality to the supposed benefits researchers have characterized the polyphenols present in extracts to determine if they have any antioxidant effect.1
Excessive free radical production is thought to be involved in a variety of chronic diseases, and plant-derived antioxidants are becoming increasingly significant as dietary factors for defending against them. In a study published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, HPLC was used to characterize the polyphenols, including phenolic acids and flavonoids, in extracts of the plant’s roots, fruits and leaves. Their radical scavenging activates were then determined using spectrophotometric methods.
Eight polyphenols were identified in parts of the plant, with catechin found in the highest concentration. The study concluded that this supports the traditional claims with all parts providing potential benefits. The leaves were identified as particularly useful, containing the highest amounts of polyphenols and components exhibiting strong antioxidant properties.
1. N. Alam et al., BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 11(65) (2011).
Inside the Laboratory: The Gionfriddo Group at the University at Buffalo
March 28th 2024In this edition of “Inside the Laboratory,” Emanuela Gionfriddo, PhD, an associate professor of chemistry at the University at Buffalo, discusses her group’s current research endeavors, including using solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to liquid chromatography (LC) and gas chromatography (GC) to further understand the chemical relationship between environmental exposure and disease and elucidate micropollutants fate in the environment and biological systems.
Transferring Methods to Compact and Portable HPLC
February 14th 2024The current trend in laboratory equipment design is the miniaturization of laboratory instruments. Smaller-scale HPLC instruments offer benefits that cannot be matched by analytical-scale equipment, especially in the areas of portability, reduced fluid volumes, and reduced operating costs. Yet, the miniaturization of laboratory equipment has brought with it a unique set of challenges, including transferring methods to compact LC. Capillary LC expands the use of LC to applications not currently done using conventional LC in a wide array of application areas, including pharmaceutical, food and beverage, petrochemical, environmental, and oil and gas. Greg Ward, Axcend’s CEO wrote, “Customers want an HPLC system with a small footprint, low flow rates and green chemistry.” Join his podcast where he shares method transfer in these application areas.