Improved Chromatographic Methods for Determination of Bioactive Compounds from Aloe vera Leaves

In this work three chromatographic methods were developed to reduce the total time of the analysis of main compounds in Aloe vera extracts. The first method was developed in a regular reverse phase chromatographic system using a particulate reverse phase C-18 column. Methods already published were used as a starting point for the development of the new method. All the compounds were separated in 32 minutes. The second method was developed in a regular reverse phase chromatographic system employing a monolithic type column. Using a 4.5 mL min−1 flow, the total time of analysis was reduced to 6 minutes with very similar resolution values. The third method was developed in an ultraperformance liquid chromatographic system, and the final time for the analysis of the phenolic compounds was reduced to 4 minutes. The analytical properties of the three chromatographic methods were compared for the main compounds in the chromatograms. Robustness of the three new methods was also checked with regard to the injection volume and the amount of methanol in the sample. A fast method (4 min) is then available for bioactive compounds from Aloe vera determination.