Standardization of Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Shrad. fruits dry extract for futher study of its antidiabetic activity

Abstract

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Shrad. (C. colocynthis) is a perennial herb of Cucurbitaceae Family native in Arabia, West Asia, Tropical Africa and in the Mediterranean region. C. colocynthis is a perspective medicinal plant due to its pharmacological activities in particular for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In this study a dry extract of C. colocynthis fruits was obtained. Technological scheme of extract obtaining was represened. Obtained dry extract has been standardized for these parameters: solubility, pH, weight loss on drying, the content of heavy metal, total ash content, identification and determination of quantitative content of biologically active substances (BAS). C. colocynthis fruits dry extract was standardized with the content of ellagic acid (EA) (0.62%). High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for quantification of EA. The validated procedure is linear, specific, and therefore can be used to determine EA in C. colocynthis dry extract.