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Planta Med 2000; 66(7): 678-681
DOI: 10.1055/s-2000-8635
Letter
Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

On the Stability of Sesquiterpene Lactones in the Officinal Arnica Tincture of the German Pharmacopoeia1

Thomas J. Schmidt2,*, Uwe Matthiesen3 , Günter Willuhn2
  • 1 The authors dedicate this work to Professor Dr. B. C. Lippold, Institut für Pharmazeutische Technologie der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, on the occasion of his 60th birthday
  • 2 Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
  • 3 Institut für Klinische Chemie und Laboratoriumsdiagnostik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
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Publication History

Publication Date:
31 December 2000 (online)

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Abstract

An investigation of sesquiterpene lactone content in Arnica tincture (German Pharmacopoeia) after storage for three years at different temperatures (+ 4, + 25 and + 30 °C) was carried out by GC and GC-MS analysis. A decrease (13, 32 and 37 %, respectively) in the content of the main active compounds in this preparation, 11α,13-dihydrohelenalin esters, correlating with storage temperature was found. This change was shown to be caused by addition of ethanol to the cyclopentenone structure of these molecules leading to 2-ethoxy-2,3,11,13-tetrahydrohelenalin derivatives.

References

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Dr. Priv.-Doz. Thomas J. Schmidt

Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf

Universitätsstraße 1 (Geb. 26.23)

40225 Düsseldorf

Germany

Email: schmidtt@uni-duesseldorf.de

Phone: +49/(0)211-81-11923