1984 Volume 32 Issue 12 Pages 4942-4945
Good separation of seven mutagenic xanthones present in Swertiae Herba was accomplished by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) on silica gel plates. The conditions for quantitative analysis of these xanthones by TLC-densitometry were investigated, and this TLC-densitometry was applied to the analysis of the constituents of the commercial Swertiae Herba and to the determination of the time courses of their extraction with hot water. The relationship between xanthone content and mutagenicity is discussed.