Development of an identification method for fern extracts using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC)

Traditional herbal medicines have been used for the treatment of various diseases and improving health for many years until the present time. The presence of phytochemical constituents of the herbal medicines has provided a significant contribution to modern therapeutics. Awareness of the chromatographic fingerprint is useful in the discovery of effective therapeutic agents. Among the commonly used traditional herbal medicines are the pteridophyte species. This includes Drynaria quercifolia, Diplazium esculentum, and Asplenium nidus that can be found in Bukidnon, Philippines. This paper describes the development of a high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method for the chromatographic fingerprints of the fern species. The presence and separation of phytoconstituents were evaluated using different mobile phases with varying polarities and proportions. The plates were derivatized using natural products (NP) reagent. The mobile phase composed of ethyl acetate-formic acid-acetic acid-water (30:2.75:2.75:6.5, V/V) produced a good separation of the compounds present in the fern species. The developed HPTLC method for the fingerprint of the fern species was validated qualitatively by considering the R-F values of the selected zones to evaluate the stability of the fingerprint. The validation results proved that the developed method is reproducible, precise, and robust. This method can thus be used for the chemical profiling and standardization of the fern species and the developed fern herbal products for quality monitoring.