Analysis of rutin in the extract and gel of Viola tricolor.

Heartsease, also known as wild pansy (Viola tricolor L.), contains considerable amounts of polyphenols: 109.32 ± 1.29 mg of Gallic acid equivalent/g of extract. This study investigates their phytoconstituents and antioxidant capacity and validates a method for the quantification of rutin in the crude extract of the flowers of V. tricolor and in the extract incorporated in gel. Much better antioxidant capacity was found for the extract [inhibition concentration (IC50) of 16.00 ± 0.78 µg/mL] than the standard ascorbic acid (IC50 of 16.57 ± 0.95 µg/mL); these excellent results may be attributable to the amounts of polyphenols, flavonoids and condensed tannins. The high-performance liquid chromatography method for the quantification of rutin in the extract and gel was linear, sensitive, precise, specific, accurate and robust. This validated method can be used to control the quality of the extract and the gel.