Determination of Contents of Rutin and Quercetin Isolated from Syrian Ficus carica L. Leaf Extracts

Abstract

The major flavonoid glycoside in Syrian Ficus carica L. leaf extracts (rutin) wasidentified quantitatively and isolated, then transformed into its aglycone (quercetin) by acidichydrolysis of ethanolic and aqueous extracts. The influence of the hydrolysis process onisoquercitrin content was investigated, too. The determination of contents of Rutin and Quercetinisolated from Syrian Ficus carica L. leaf extracts was carried out by high performance liquidchromatography, and the isolation was done by using thin layer chromatography plates, thenidentified by mass spectra. Results showed that rutin content in the ethanolic extract (78.79%)was higher than the aqueous one (61.90%) by using ultrasonic extraction procedure. Thequercetin content by hydrolysis process was more satisfactory in the ethanolic extract (81.00%)than the aqueous one (72.53%). Acidic hydrolysis process destroyed some of the isoquercitrin inthe extracts. The detection of isoquercitrin was done qualitatively by noticing the mass spectrumand the photo diode array spectrum. Rutin and quercetin were successfully isolated, the relativepeak areas for isolated rutin and quercetin were 99.80% and 96.46%, respectively. It wasconcluded that rutin can be easily converted into quercetin by acidic hydrolysis, allowing the use ofSyrian ficus leaf extracts as an optimal cheap natural antioxidant source.