Afzelechin is a flavan-3-ol, a type of flavonoid. It can be found in Bergenia ligulata (aka Paashaanbhed in Ayurveda traditional Indian medicine). Arthromerin A (afzelechin-3-O-β-D-xylopyranoside) and arthromerin B (afzelechin-3-O-β-D-glucopyranoside) are afzelechin glycosides isolated from the roots of the fern Arthromeris mairei. (+)-afzelechin-O-β-4'-D-glucopyranoside can be isolated from the rhizomes of the fern Selliguea feei. A reverse-phase high pressure liquid chromatographic method with an optimised extraction procedure for the quantitative estimation of bergenin and (+)-afzelechin in different parts of the popular Indian herb Paashaanbhed (Bergenia ligulata Yeo) has been developed. The method is sensitive, precise and gives more than 99% recovery of the active constituents. The rhizomes of the plant were found to contain higher concentrations of bergenin (0.907%w/w) and (+)-afzelechin (0.168% w/w) than other parts of the plant.
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