Bioassay-guided isolation of serotonin from fruits of Solanum tuberosum L.

An ethanol extract of the fruits of Solanum tuberosum was partitioned between water and petroleum ether. The aqueous fraction had contractive effect on the isolated guinea-pig ileum. Chromatography of this fraction on Sephadex LH-20 and silica gel was monitored by the guinea-pig ileum test and resulted in isolation of serotonin. HPLC analysis of the content of serotonin in fruits, leaves and tubers of the plant, showed that the fruits and leaves contained 7.5 micrograms and 2 micrograms, respectively, of serotonin/g fresh weight. In agreement with previous observations, no serotonin was detected in the tubers.