Determination of cucurbitacin E in some selected herbs of ayurvedic importance through RP-HPLC.

The consumption of the fruits of cucurbitaceae plants is widely popular among Indians due to their various nutritional and medicinal purposes. Some of these plants are well reported in Ayurveda due to their potential therapeutic importance. In particular, the plants of this family are well-characterized by the presence of its bitter principle, Cucurbitacin E which differs within the species due to its genetic variations.The objective of the study was to develop a validated RP-HPLC method for standardization in some widely consumed cucurbits with cucurbitacin E as a marker compound.

The RP-HPLC method was developed with a reverse phase C₁₈ column, using acetonitrile and water (1% glacial acetic acid) as mobile phase (70:30 v/v). The flow rate and λ_max were optimized at 1 mL/min and 230 nm respectively. The HPLC method was validated in terms of accuracy, specificity, sensitivity, and repeatability as per ICH guideline.

The calibration curve was found linear in the concentration range of 1-100 μg/mL. The % RSD of precision and recovery was found to be <2%, which confirms high repeatability of the method. The results indicated that the content of cucurbitacin E was highest (0.0663% w/w) in Cucurbita pepo whereas Lagenaria siceraria contains the lowest (0.0356% w/w).The study was able to explore the variation of cucurbitacin E content in some selected food plants of Cucurbitaceae family. The applicability of the method can be established in nutraceutical industry for the effective quality control of cucurbits for safe human consumption.