HPLC Fingerprint Analysis Coupled with Multivariate Analysis for Quality Assesssment of Picrorhiza kurroa rhizomes

Abstract

Kutki, the dried rhizome of Picrorhiza kurroa Royle ex Benth belonging to family Scrophulariaceae, has been utilized globally for liver ailments. Comprehensive use of kutki needs to evaluate its role as a quality control tool for discrimination of kutki samples, and therefore an effective HPLC fingerprinting method was established. Reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array (RP-HPLC-PDA) detection method coupled with multivariate analysis was developed, which was modest, consistent and, accurate for classification of 11 kutki samples including authentic Picrorhiza kurroa rhizomes from the market of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, India. The method was validated for various parameters like precision, reproducibility, and stability. The lowest value of the % relative standard deviations (RSD) was 1.31%. Chromatographic fingerprint profiles of 11 kutki samples, including authenticated samples, were obtained by this method, which showed total 28 peaks, and 9 peaks were important among them. Chemometric techniques like PCA and HCA were applied to identify the kutki samples. Samples of kutki could be exquisitely differentiated into two clusters. HPLC-PDA method coupled to multivariate analysis divulged that chromatographic fingerprint analysis was reliable and effective for quality assessment and discrimination of kutki samples.