Assay of caffeine, theobromine, catechin and epicatechin by high performance liquid chromatography in an extract of fresh stabilized cola seeds
Maillard, C.; Ollivier, B.; Balansard, G.; De Meo, M.
Annales Pharmaceutiques Francaises 44(6): 495-500
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0003-4509 PMID: 3039896 Document Number: 271645
As the Cola seed has a psychostimulating effect due to the caffeine it contains, it is used in therapeutics. To obtain effects identical to those obtained using fresh seeds, it is necessary to use a dry extract of fresh stabilized seeds, titrated in caffeine and catechin derivatives. A dosing method is proposed in order to determine the caffeine, theobromine, catechin and epicatechin rates using HPLC. This is a reversed polarity technique using a radial compression system and a Waters Radialpak column with a polar mobile phase:methanol/water/acetic acid. The products are detected at 280 nm, without extraction, the four molecules rates were determined simultaneously. The statistically processed results led to a correlation coefficient of 1 for each molecule. This method can be used systematically to check dry extracts of cola seeds.