Quantification of colchicine in different parts of Gloriosa superba L

Abstract

Gloriosa superba - a perennial climber and an important medicinal plant is used to cure diseases like gout, rheumatism, arthritis, ulcers and have properties like anthelmintic, purgative, abortifacient, antipyretic etc. The medicinal value of the plant is mainly due to the presence of alkaloids in all the parts of plant mainly colchicine which is an amino alkaloid derived from derived from two amino acids phenylalanine and trynosine present in it. In the present study colchicine, a major alkaloid of Gloriosa superba was quantified in different parts of plants gown at sub- temperate climate by using HPLC-UV. The seeds were found to contain the highest content of colchicine when compared to other parts under study. The colchicine content ranged from 0.051-0.695 %. The other parts studied were tubers, stems and leaves. The colchicine was detected in all four parts of the plant.