African Journal of
Biotechnology

  • Abbreviation: Afr. J. Biotechnol.
  • Language: English
  • ISSN: 1684-5315
  • DOI: 10.5897/AJB
  • Start Year: 2002
  • Published Articles: 12501

Full Length Research Paper

The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of ultraviolet (UV) irradiated chlorophyll a and secondary plant compounds

Johanna C. Scheepers*, Sarel F. Malan, Jan L. Du Preez and Sandra Van Dyk
Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, North-West University, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa.
Email: [email protected]

  •  Accepted: 24 October 2011
  •  Published: 23 November 2011

Abstract

A large number of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disease, neurodegenerative disorders and ageing are consequences of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, lipid peroxidation and protein damage are biomarkers for damage in the cell caused by ROS and RNS. Various plant extracts have been tested for anti-oxidant properties. Due to the chlorophyll in the extracts, false negative results from spectrophotometric tests are often observed. A pilot study was done to determine the stability of the secondary compounds with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after the samples were bleached with ultraviolet (UV) radiation and treated with activated charcoal. The chlorophyll a was successfully degraded with UV radiation in all the samples leaving a bleached extract suitable for biological assays.

 

Key words: Chlorophyll a, UV radiation, activated charcoal, HPLC, secondary compounds in plant extracts.

Abbreviation

HPLC, High performance liquid chromatography; ROS, reactive oxygen species; RNS, reactive nitrogen species; TBA, thiobarbituric acid; MDA,malondialdehyde; NBT, nitro-blue tetrazolium; IR, infrared; DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid; UV-Vis, ultraviolet/visible.