Quality control of marketed products of Andrographis paniculata by HPLC analysis

Andrographis paniculata is one of the most important medicinal plants having several pharmaceutical properties. Various pharmaceutical products and raw powders of this herb are sold in the market. The high demand for A. paniculata poses the problem of adulteration in their products. Therefore, it becomes necessary to check the quality in terms of their major bioactive compounds. In the present study, several marketed products were analyzed for their quality assessment i.e. for the presence of desired bioactive constituent, andrographolide. Ten tested products of A. paniculata showed the presence of andrographolide. A validated High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography (HPLC) method has been used for the quantitative estimation of andrographolide. andrographolide was detected at a retention time (Rt) of 17.8±0.05 and was quantified using a linear regression equation. The amount of andrographolide in the marketed products was in the range of 0.01 to 7.08 %. The chromatographic fingerprints were developed in all marketed products in the study. Thus, the present study dealing with the detection and quantification of andrographolide through HPLC analysis would have enough significance in the quality control of marketed products of andrographis paniculata.