Premium
1 H‐NMR Analysis of Terpene Trilactones ( TTLs ) in Ginkgo biloba : Green Female Leaves Contain the Most TTLs
Author(s) -
Goto Hiroshi,
Usuki Toyonobu
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
phytochemical analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1099-1565
pISSN - 0958-0344
DOI - 10.1002/pca.1328
Subject(s) - chemistry , ginkgo biloba , extraction (chemistry) , chromatography , botany , biology
Terpene trilactones (TTLs), unique components of Ginkgo biloba extracts, are believed to play important roles in the biological activity of these materials. The investigation of seasonal and gender‐related variations in the natural content of TTLs in the leaves is a challenging problem that must be addressed in order to establish more efficient extraction/isolation protocols for TTLs. Objective The aims of this work were (i) to modify the extraction/isolation protocols of TTLs from G . biloba leaves by means of boiling and filtration procedures, and (ii) to investigate seasonal and gender‐related variations in the TTL content of the leaves via 1 H‐NMR analysis. Methodology When extracting TTLs from G . biloba leaves, procedures for boiling and filtration were improved in this work. Moreover, quantitative 1 H‐NMR analysis using DMF as a reference was performed and correlated to the colour (green/yellow) and gender (male/female) variations in the natural compositions of TTLs in the leaves. Results Extraction procedures were modified to include boiling in ethyl acetate and filtration was achieved with celite. 1 H‐NMR analysis of TTLs suggested that green female leaves contained the largest amount of TTLs, while no TTLs were present in yellow male leaves. Conclusion The present results provide a method for quickly supplying laboratory‐scale quantities of TTLs from natural sources to enable the study of their structure–activity relationships. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.