Simultaneous quantification of triterpenoic acids by high performance liquid chromatography method in the extracts of gum resin of Boswellia serrata obtained by different extraction techniques

Background Boswellia serrata , also known as Indian frankincense is a commercially important medicinal plant which has been used for hundreds of years as an Ayurvedic medicine for the attempted treatment of arthritis. It contains naturally occurring triterpenoic acids, called as boswellic acids (BA’s). Results A highly reproducible High performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet diode array detection (HPLC-UV-DAD) method was developed for the simultaneous determination and quantitative analysis of eight major triterpenoic acids in Boswellia serrata gum resin obtained by different extraction techniques. All the calibration curves exhibited good linear regression (R 2 > 0.997) within the test ranges. The established method showed good precision and overall recoveries of the boswellic acids. Conclusions The eight triterpenoic acids coded as BS-1 (11-keto-beta-boswellic acid), BS-2 (3- O -acetyl-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid), BS-3 (3-keto tirucallic acid), BS-4 (3- O -acetyl-alpha-tirucallic acid), BS-5 (3- O -acetyl-beta-tirucallic acid), BS-6 (alpha-boswellic acid), BS-7 (beta-boswellic acid) and BS-8 (3- O -acetyl-beta-boswellic acid) were isolated from the processed gum resin of Boswellia serrata by column chromatography. The proposed HPLC method is simple, reliable and has been very useful for the qualitative as well as quantitative analysis of boswellic acids in the gum resin of Boswellia serrata . The proposed method allows to quantify boswellic acids in appreciable amounts by HPLC-UV (DAD) method in the extracts and the available marketed formulations. Graphical abstract Isolation & separation of eight Triterpenoic acids from Boswellia serrata