Development of an efficient high-performance thin layer chromatography method for determination of jasmonic acid in leaf tissue of Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni.

Determination of endogenous levels of jasmonic acid (JA) is essential, as it plays a pivotal role in the physiological processes during a plant's life cycle. A high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) method was developed for the detection and quantification of JA in leaf extracts of medicinal plant, Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni. The separation was achieved using the solvents ethyl acetate-benzene (1:1, v/v) as the mobile phase, followed by scanning and quantification at 295 nm. Densitometric analysis of leaf extract resulted in compact spots for JA at Rf = 0.45 ± 0.02. The linear regression analysis showed good relationship with r value. The recovery rate of JA indicated good reproducibility and repeatability of the assay. The statistical analysis proved the reproducibility of the method; therefore, it can be employed for routine quantification of JA in different tissue samples of S. rebaudiana and may also be extrapolated to other biological samples.