RP-HPLC-DAD for simultaneous estimation of mahanine and mahanimbine in Murraya koenigii.

Murraya koenigii leaves (Rutaceae) are widely used as food condiments in various food preparations in India. They possess a wide range of biological activities including antioxidant, antibacterial, anticancer, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic activity. A rapid reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method has been developed for quantitative estimation of mahanine and mahanimbine, two major bioactive alkaloids in this plant. The amounts of mahanine and mahanimbine were detected as 9.56 ± 1.04 and 4.32 ± 0.81% w/w in the extract, with the retention times of 6.26 ± 0.66 and 10.40 ± 0.95 minutes. The limits of detection and quantification were estimated to be 29.30 and 81.12 µg/mL and 1.67 and 6.31 µg/mL, respectively. This specific and precise validated method can be useful for the routine analysis and quantitative determination of mahanine and mahanimbine in this therapeutically potent medicinal plant.