Standardization of some plants of the Cucurbitaceae family by a validated high-performance thin-layer chromatography method

Medicinal plants of the Cucurbitaceae family are widely consumed as foods in human diet. In the present study, a simple, rapid, quantitative, and validated high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been developed for the estimation of chlorogenic acid (CA) in the hydroalcoholic fruit extracts of Luffa acutangula (sponge gourd), Sechium edule (chayote squash), Trichosanthes cucumerina (snake gourd) and Trichosanthes dioica (pointed gourd) belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. Densitometric analysis of CA was carried out in the absorbance mode at 254 nm. The method gave spot at RF = 0.55 ± 0.04, corresponding to CA in different samples. The limit of detection and limit of quantification per spot were confirmed with the mobile phase ethyl acetate‒chloroform‒formic acid (6:4:0.5, V/V). Linear regression analysis data for the calibration plot for CA showed a good linear relationship with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.9997 in the concentration range of 200–1000 ng per spot. The method was validated for sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, precision and specificity as per the international conference on harmonization guidelines. The proposed validated HPTLC method provides a novel approach for the quality control and standardization of some selected medicinal food plants of the Cucurbitaceae family.