Comparative HPTLC fingerprint profile of triterpenes in the methanolic extracts of Ocimum basilicum L. and Mentha arvensis L. (Lamiaceae)

Abstract

A comparative account of the Triterpenes present in the methanolic extract of Ocimum basilicum L. and Mentha arvensis L. were done using HPTLC. Plant materials were extracted with methanol in a soxhlet extractor. CAMAG HPTLC system equipped with Linomat 5 applicator, TLC scanner 3 and WIN CATS software were used. The methanol extract of the plants were fingerprinted in Toluene:Chloroform:Ethanol (4:4:1) solvent system and scanned densitometrically under UV using anisaldehyde sulphuric acid as reagent. This study can be taken as a tool for chemotaxonomic identification, useful in differentiating the species from the adulterant.