A Systematic Review of Analytical Methods for Quantification of Natural Indole Alkaloids from Catharanthus and Rauvolfia Species

Document Type : Review

Authors

1 Department of Pharmaceutical Quality Assurance, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur,Tamil Nadu, India.

2 Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, SRM College of Pharmacy, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

Indole alkaloids are a class of alkaloids enclosing a structural moiety of indole; numerous indole alkaloids also comprise isoprene groups and are thus named terpene indole or secologanin tryptamine alkaloids and have more than 4100 identified diverse compounds. Indole alkaloids are one of the main classes of alkaloids identified in several significant plant groups, mainly Catharanthus and Rauvolfia plants from Apocynaceae family. The pharmacological actions of these plants have been studied scientifically, with some undergoing clinical trials while others were already approved for medicinal use. This review aimed at the fundamental objective of summarizing the developed analytical methods for quantification of indole alkaloids obtained from plants and complete examination of their present quantification method, which may result in the identification of alternative method developments for the effective and accurate quantification of indole alkaloids by considering the green method. This systematic review was conducted from January 2006 to June 2022, using electronic databases like PubMed, Web of Science and Embase. Several studies in the literature have been reported for quantitative estimation of indole alkaloids using different techniques including the spectrophotometric methods, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS). Most of the studies reported HPLC analysis for quantification. This review will offer a greater understanding of the available methods to develop a more precise and sensitive quantification method for indole alkaloids with the cost-effectiveness that is expected to emerge in line with clinical usage and to promote the development of the pharmaceutical industry for routine quality control analysis. 

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Main Subjects

References

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Research Journal of Pharmacognosy
Volume 10, Issue 1
January 2023
Pages 57-66

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