The high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of ultraviolet (UV) irradiated chlorophyll a and secondary plant compounds

Abstract

A large number of diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, inflammatory disease, neurodegenerative disorders and ageing are consequences of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS). Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) damage, lipid peroxidation and protein damage are biomarkers for damage in the cell caused by ROS and RNS. Various plant extracts have been tested for anti-oxidant properties. Due to the chlorophyll in the extracts, false negative results from spectrophotometric tests are often observed. A pilot study was done to determine the stability of the secondary compounds with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) after the samples were bleached with ultraviolet (UV) radiation and treated with activated charcoal. The chlorophyll a was successfully degraded with UV radiation in all the samples leaving a bleached extract suitable for biological assays.

Key words: Chlorophyll a, UV radiation, activated charcoal, HPLC, secondary compounds in plant extracts.