Quantitative Determination of Protoberberine Alkaloids in Tinospora cordifolia by RP-LC-DAD

Tinospora cordifolia, known as Guduchi in Ayurveda, is a medicinal plant popular mainly for immunomodulatory activity. Its therapeutic activity may be attributed to protoberberine alkaloids such as jatrorrhizine, palmatine and berberine. A new, simple RP-LC-DAD method has been developed for separation, simultaneous identification and quantitative estimation of these protoberberine alkaloids in T. cordifolia extracts and formulations. The developed method was validated based on ICH-Q2B guidelines and was found to be accurate, precise and linear over a relatively wide range of concentrations (0.65–83.33 μg mL−1). This method can serve as a useful quality control tool for T. cordifolia and its formulations.