Development and Validation of a High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic (HPTLC) Method for Simultaneous Quantification of Reserpine, Atropine, and Piperine in Sarpagandha Ghanvati, a Classical Ayurvedic Preparation.

Background: Anxiety disorders are the most common of emotional disorders, affecting more than 20 million people annually. Sarpagandha Ghanvati is a classical Ayurvedic polyherbal formulation prescribed in conditions of insomnia, hysteria, and is used as an anxiolytic agent. Standardization and quality control are the two major issues that need to be addressed for herbal formulations, especially those containing multiple herbal ingredients. Objective: An HPTLC method was developed for the simultaneous quantification of reserpine, atropine, and piperine from Sarpagandha Ghanvati containing Rauwolfia serpentine (root), Hyoscyamus niger (seed), and Piper longum (root and stem). Methods: The marker compounds were effectively resolved on a silica gel G TLC plate using toluene-ethyl acetate-diethyl amine (7+2+1, v/v) as the mobile phase. The detected wavelengths for reserpine, atropine, and piperine were 269, 220, and 254 nm, respectively. The method was validated as per the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines. Results: R. serpentine roots contained 0.82% w/w of reserpine. Atropine content in the seeds of H. niger was found to be 0.004% w/w, whereas P. longum roots were found to contain 0.508% of piperine. The method was found to be accurate, which was evident from 98.93, 99.46, and 99.10% recovery of reserpine, atropine, and piperine, respectively, when the respective herbs were spiked with them. By the developed HPTLC method, 1.0 g of Sarpagandha Ghanvati was found to contain 4.94, 0.049, and 0.318 mg of reserpine, atropine, and piperine, respectively. The recoveries of these three markers from the formulation were found to be 90.32, 92.45, and 89.97%, respectively. Conclusions: The developed method can be successfully used for simultaneous estimation of these marker compounds and for the quality control of the classical Ayurvedic formulation Sarpagandha Ghanvati. Highlights: This works describes effects of extraction solvents on the quantities of marker compounds in the formulations. It also suggests a simple and reliable HPTLC method for simultaneous quantification of three different marker compounds from a poly-herbal formulation.