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Herbal Drug Analysis
with CAMAG’s HPTLC Systems

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superior separation efficiency

High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography

Cost-Effective
Reproducibility and Automation
Visual Documentation
Compliance with International Standards

HPTLC stands out as the preferred method for analyzing herbal drugs due to its precision and reliability. Moreover, CAMAG offers analytical systems specifically designed to cater to the intricate needs of both qualitative and quantitative herbal drug analysis by HPTLC.

Furthermore, its ability to detect adulteration and provide comprehensive chemical fingerprints ensures the authenticity, purity, and efficacy of herbal drugs. Thus, herbal drug analysis by HPTLC enables manufacturers to uphold high quality standards, thereby ensuring safe and effective herbal products for consumers globally.

Regulatory Compliance

HPTLC is recognized in pharmacopeias like the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), European Pharmacopeia (Ph. Eur.), and Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP). Adhering to chapters such as USP <203>, Ph. Eur. 2.8.25, or Indian Ph. 2.4.17, HPTLC ensures compliance and quality in herbal products. Whether inspecting goods, controlling production, or conducting quality checks on finished products, our standardized HPTLC methods provide a reliable way to identify natural materials through their unique chromatographic fingerprints.

This capability is crucial for:

Verifying the authenticity of botanical materials
Informing about the natural variability of botanicals
Checking quality of finished products
Detecting adulteration and ensuring purity
Monitoring stability over time
Quantifying active marker compounds

HPTLC APPLICATION IN
HERBAL DRUG ANALYSIS

Complex Matrix Analysis

One of the most notable applications of HPTLC is its ability to handle complex matrices effectively. This is exemplified in our case study on Ginkgo leaves and dry leaf extracts, commonly used in herbal drugs and botanical dietary supplements. The versatility and precision of HPTLC make it an invaluable tool in this context.

Quality Control

HPTLC is widely used for the quality control of raw plant materials and finished herbal products. By offering clear visual documentation of chemical profiles, it ensures the authenticity and purity of herbal substances. Adulteration and contamination, which are common risks in the herbal industry, can be easily detected through this method.

Fingerprint Analysis

Herbal drugs contain a variety of compounds that contribute to their therapeutic properties. HPTLC is highly effective in generating unique “fingerprints” for these complex mixtures, allowing for the identification and comparison of different plant species or extracts. This is essential for confirming the identity of herbal ingredients and ensuring that the correct plant species is used.

Detection of Adulteration

Adulteration in herbal drugs is a significant concern, particularly when cheaper or lower-quality plants are substituted for authentic ingredients. HPTLC enables the detection of such adulterants by comparing the chemical profile of the herbal product with reference standards. This provides an easy and efficient way to safeguard the integrity of herbal products.

Stability Testing

Herbal formulations are sensitive to environmental factors such as temperature, light, and humidity, which can affect their stability and shelf life. HPTLC is used to monitor the stability of herbal drugs by tracking changes in their chemical composition over time. This ensures that herbal medicines maintain their potency and safety throughout their shelf life.

Quantification of Active Marker Compounds

The complex chemical makeup of herbal drugs presents challenges in maintaining consistency across batches. HPTLC helps in the standardization of herbal extracts by identifying and quantifying key bioactive markers. This ensures that each batch of herbal product meets the required quality standards, providing reliable therapeutic effects.

Universal Separation Approach

Laboratories performing HPTLC analysis face challenges with multiple methods and standards. A new approach using three complementary developing solvents (CDS) allows to separate all components in at least one of the three systems. This method, demonstrated in identifying herbal drugs, can be automated with HPTLC PRO, reducing costs and consumables. The CDS approach makes HPTLC a versatile and efficient technique for analyzing complex samples and individual compounds.

Multi-Component Analysis

Herbal drugs often contain numerous active compounds, each contributing to the overall therapeutic effect. HPTLC is an ideal tool for multi-component analysis, allowing the simultaneous detection and quantification of several compounds in a single run. This saves time and provides a comprehensive understanding of the herbal product’s composition.

Chromap founded in 2016, is committed to establish a Chinese medicine R&D company with a “craftsmanship spirit.” The extractive reference substances (ERS) and formula granules of TCM that we have developed, which are part of national standard research projects, have received recognition from experts both domestically and internationally. Our laboratory is equipped with multiple sets of CAMAG HPTLC equipment, achieving standardized parameters and automated processes to ensure the reproducibility of results.

Alex Guo, General Manager, Guangzhou Chromap Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

COMPLETE SYSTEMS

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Tailored Solutions for Your Laboratory

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Understanding that each laboratory has unique needs, we offer CAMAG products tailored to your analytical challenges. With CAMAG’s HPTLC systems, you ensure accuracy, reliability, and compliance in herbal drug analysis, keeping your lab at the forefront of precision and quality.

Accuracy
Reliability
Compliance

In 2016, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine partnered with Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to establish Shanghai Tufeng Medical Technology Co., Ltd., and jointly founded the Kanion Pharmaceutical Research Institute at Shanghai University of TCM. The Research Institute is responsible for the R&D and application of some new TCM drugs. The TLC identification is an essential part of the application process. With the assistance of equipment such as CAMAG’s ATS 4 and TLC Visualizer, the data from the TLC identification can be ensured to be repeatable and traceable, which is very important for the work of new drug applications.

Dr. Yang Yingbo, Head of R&D, Kanion Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Shanghai University of TCM

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