Narcissus and Daffodil

292 N.P.D. Nanayakkara and J.K. Bastos
Sandberg and Michel (1963) analysed the alkaloid profiles in different parts
of Pancratium maritimum collected from different geographic areas using a
two-dimensional TLC procedure. Separation of the alkaloids was carried out
on 10 × 10 cm silica gel plates using mobile phases diethylether: methanol:
diethylamine (85:10:5) and chloroform:methanol:diethylamine (92:3:5) in
the two directions. Iodoplatinate reagent was used for visualisation. A total of
fifty-two alkaloids, ranging from 14 to 37 per specimen, were detected in
these samples, and their relative percentages were estimated. Five of them
were isolated and identified as lycorine, haemanthidine, tazettine, vittatine
and hordenine, and four more new compounds were also partially characterised.
TLC on alumina was employed by Asoeva and Vergeichik (1967) to separate
and quantify alkaloids in Galanthus krasnovii. Benzene:ethanol was used as the
mobile phase, and the content of galanthamine and four other unidentified alkaloids
were determined. Leifertova and Brazdova (1967) analysed G. nivalis collected
from different regions by TLC and PC, and seven compounds, including galanthamine,
lycorine and tazettine, were detected.
A quantitative and qualitative study of the alkaloid composition of wild and
introduced Leucojum aestivum populations was carried out by Stefanov (1977).
Alkaloid fractions were separated by TLC on silica gel using methanol:diethylether:diethanolamine
(5:90:5) as the mobile phase, and six compounds (galanthamine,
galanthaminone, lycorine, lycorenine, nivalidine and an unidentified
alkaloid) were determined quantitatively.
The alkaloid fraction of common snowdrop bulbs (Galanthus nivalis) was studied
by TLC on silica gel using chloroform:acetone:diethylamine (50:40:10), n-hexane:
chloroform:acetone:diethylamine (80:25:30:5) and toluene:acetone:chloroform:
diethylamine (45:25:25:5) as mobile phases (Kalashnikov, 1969). Dragendroff
reagent was used as the visualising agent and six alkaloids, including galanthamine
and lycorine, were detected.
Wurst et al. (1980) developed a quantitative TLC procedure to determine the
galanthamine content in extracts of Leucojum aestivum. The alkaloid fraction was
separated by TLC on silica gel using diethylether:methanol:diethylamine
(80:15:5) as the mobile phase, and the compounds were detected using a TLC
scanner operating at 288 nm. The detection limit for galanthamine by this procedure
was about 0.2 µg, and good linearity of response and reproducibility were
obtained.
Hong et al. (1981) developed TLC and PC procedures to identify galanthamine
and lycoramine. In TLC, the best results were obtained on alumina by using either
cyclohexane:chloroform:diethylamine (5:4:1) or benzene:ethyl acetate:diethylamine
(7:2:1) as mobile phases. In PC, the paper was treated with a buffer at
pH 4.4, saturated with water vapour prior to use, and chloroform was used as
the solvent.
Dobronravova et al. (1982) studied the chromatographic behaviour of halide
salts of some alkaloids on alumina. TLC of hydrochloride salts of lycorine
and galanthamine showed two spots after spraying with Dragendroff reagent,
one major and the other near the start, presumably due to decomposition.
The sensitivity of detection for these compounds by Dragendroff reagent was
500 µg.