Chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis of bound and unbound phenolic acids in Lagenaria breviflora fruit.

The fruit pulp of Lagenaria breviflora Robert (Cucurbitaceae), used in Nigeria as an anti-bacterial and anti-fertility drug, was found to contain phenolic acids. Isolation and characterization of these compounds was based on column chromatography, TLC, PC, UV, IR and GC-MS. While p-hydroxybenzoic and vanillic acids were found to occur as free and bound acids in the pulp, ferulic acid was found to occur only as an ester. An optimized HPLC procedure for the quantitative analysis of these acids was developed, featuring short retention, times, high sensitivity and excellent resolution. The concentration of these phenols in the fruit mesocarp was established.