India is the second largest country for cultivation of onion. 19.90% of onion is cultivated in India. Onion that is Allium cepa family Amaryllidaceae used in daily diet for taste. Onions also have number of medicinal properties, such as hepatoprotection, anticancer, antifungal, antioxidant, antiulcer, anti-agging, anti-inflammatory, anticancer etc.[1-2] The dried scales or peels of onion also have the same medicinal constituents with same activity as raw onions. The onion peels contains flavonoids, such as anthocyanins, flavones (qurcertin and its derivatives), ferulic, Gallic, protocatechuic acids, sulphur, vitamins etc. In the present study determination of protocatechuic acid in onion peels extract has been performed using HPTLC. HPTLC separation was carried out on Merck TLC aluminium sheets precoated with silica gel 60F254 using Toluene: Ethyl acetate: Formic acid (6: 6: 1.2 v/v/v) as mobile phase.[3-11] Quantitative analysis was carried out in the absorbance mode at 258 nm. Hydroalcoholic extract was tested for hepatoprotective activity in wistar rats (either sex) by using CCl4 as hepatotoxicity inducing agent and Silamyrin as standard. Hydroalcoholic extract shows hepatoprotective activity as indicated by decrease in the level of SGOT, SGPT, total protein, billirubin an which hepatotoxicity was induced by CCl4 intraperitonial injection route to animal, from the result it may be concluded that onion peels extract may be used for hepatoprotective activity.
Keywords: Onion peel extract, Protocatechuic acid, HPTLC, hepatoprotection
