Turmeric, Curcuma longa L., is a well-known spice of the Zingiberacea family. Three main phenolic curcuminoids have been identified in turmeric and those are responsible for the hallmark yellow pigmentation. Curcuminoids were demonstrated for numerous pharmacological properties including antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory activities. In the present study, rapid two dimensional chromatography was used for the separation of four curcuminoids for the first time. Silica and diol columns were used for the two-dimensional separation using gradient mobile phase and curcuminoids were monitored at 245 and 360 nm. The purity of the fractions were analyzed  by HPLC. Fractions containing similar peaks were pooled to obtain four compounds. The developed technique offers the advantage of simplified automation with shorter run time compared to conventional separation methods. Further, the purity of compounds was analyzed by quantitative 1H NMR spectra obtained from the single pulse sequence. An external coaxial glass tube (OD 2 mm) containing 60 �L of 0.012% 3-(trimethylsilyl) propionic-(2,2,3,3-d4) acid sodium salt (TSP) solution  in D2O  was used as a quantitative reference. The purity of curcuminoids isolated using 2D were found to be 92.4 � 95.45%. The rapid separation and quantitation methods reported herein can be of wide utility for routine identification and rapid quantitation (<5 min) of curcuminoids in biological samples. This project is based upon work supported by the USDA-NIFA # 2010-34402-20875 'Designing Foods for Health' through the VFIC and State funding � 2012-124801 Vegetable & Fruit Improvement Center-TX State Appropriation.

Rapid 2D chromatographic separation of curcuminoids and their quantitation by NMR spectroscopy

245th National Meeting (2013)

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