Maceration-Mediated Liquid-Liquid Extraction and Reverse-Phase High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Based Pragmatic Analysis of Silybins

This study presents a pragmatic and easily scalable maceration-mediated liquid-liquid extraction (MMLLE) and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC)-based determination of Silybins from plant material (Curcuma longa L.). The processing of calibration standards revealed that the RP-HPLC method was linear over a concentration range of 1-100 mu g/mL with regression coefficient (R-2) > 0.9950, limit of detection 0.02 mu g/mL and limit of quantification <0.07 mu g/mL. The optimum chromatographic conditions resolved Silybin A, Silybin B, Isosilybin A and Isosilybin B within 5 min of analysis time. The reproducible recovery rates of spiked flavonolignans (96.24-115.40%) from quality controls established the effectiveness of MMLLE procedure prior to HPLC determination. The real-time analysis revealed the presence of silybins in C. longa roots. The results further endorse that MMLLE prior to chromatographic determination may provide a more pragmatic analytical solution for the analysis/isolation of silybins.