Organic Acids from Leaves, Fruits, and Rinds of Garcinia cowa

Organic acids in fresh leaves, fruits, and dried rinds of Garcinia cowa (G. cowa) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Fresh leaves, fruits, and dried rinds were extracted with water at 120 °C for 20−30 min under 15 lbs/in2 pressure. Also, dried rinds were extracted with solvents (acetone and methanol) using a Soxhlet extractor at 60 °C for 8 h each. The samples were injected to HPLC under gradient elution with 0.01 M phosphoric acid and methanol with a flow rate of 0.7 mL/min using UV detection at 210 nm. The major organic acid was found to be (−)-hydroxycitric acid present in leaves, fruits, and rinds to the extent of 1.7, 2.3, and 12.7%, respectively. (−)-Hydroxycitric acid lactone, and oxalic and citric acids are present in leaves, fruits, and rinds in minor quantities. This is the first report on the composition of organic acids from G. cowa. Keywords: Garcinia cowa; (−)-hydroxycitric acid; lactone; citric acid; HPLC