Abstract

Silymarin is one of the most investigated plant extracts with known mechanism of action. It is used for oral treatment of toxic liver damage. Silybin, isosilybin, silychristin and silydianin are the main flavonolignan components of silymarin isolated from the fruits of Silybum marianum. A reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determination of flavonolignans was developed. The method depended on an isocratic solvent system comprising acetonitrile and water containing 0.5% (v/v) phosphoric acid. The method was used for analysis of the flavonolignans content in the fruits of S. marianum at different maturity stages. A correlation between fruits color, maturity stage and silymarin content is demonstrated.

Key words: Silybum marianum, silymarin; , flavonolignans; , fruits; , maturity; , high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).