Extraction and Chromatographic Techniques in Medicinal Plant Analysis

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2025-2026

Topic

With the increasing demand for herbal medicinal products, nutraceuticals, and natural products for health care all over the world, medicinal plant extract manufacturers and essential oil producers have started using the most appropriate extraction and chromatographic technologies in order to produce and standardize extracts and essential oils of defined quality. The aim of this course is to introduce the most important extraction methods and chromatographic techniques used in the research of medicinal plants. Students should be able to apply the acquired knowledge in their medical or pharmaceutical practice.

Task: To introduce state-of-the-art extraction techniques (maceration, infusion, digestion, decoction, percolation, Soxhlet, ultrasound extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, water and steam distillation, enfleurage, expression) and chromatographic analyses (column chromatography, thin layer chromatography, high pressure liquid chromatography) of medicinal plants and their role in the production of herbal medicines. Some applications, relating to different classes of substances, are presented to demonstrate the versatility of various chromatographic techniques.

Requirements: students have to know the most frequent extraction and analytical techniques used in medicinal and aromatic plant research.

Lectures

• 1. An Overview of Extraction Techniques for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. - Bencsik Tímea
• 2. Introduction of the course requirements. - Bencsik Tímea
• 3. Introduction of state-of-the-art extraction techniques: maceration, infusion, digestion, decoction, percolation, Soxhlet, ultrasound extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, water and steam distillation, enfleurage, expression. - Bencsik Tímea
• 4. Introduction of state-of-the-art extraction techniques: maceration, infusion, digestion, decoction, percolation, Soxhlet, ultrasound extraction, supercritical fluid extraction, water and steam distillation, enfleurage, expression. - Bencsik Tímea
• 5. Introduction to Analytical Separations. - Benkő András Antal
• 6. Techniques for the Purposes of Botanical Research. - Benkő András Antal
• 7. Planar Chromatography: TLC. - Benkő András Antal
• 8. Role of Different Procedures and Test Systems in the Knowledge of Herbal Substances. - Benkő András Antal
• 9. Column Chromatography Systems: GC. - Benkő András Antal
• 10. Column Chromatography Systems: HPLC. - Benkő András Antal
• 11. Detectors Used in Different Separation Techniques and their Role in Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis. - Benkő András Antal
• 12. Classification of Detectors Based on their Sensitivity and Selectivity. - Benkő András Antal
• 13. Role of thin layer chromatography (TLC) in detecting microbiological processes: TLC-Bioautography. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 14. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils using TLC-Bioautography. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 15. Isolation and identification of carotenoids from medicinal plants. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 16. Role of column liquid chromatography (CLC) in carotenoid research. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 17. Extraction and chromatographic techniques of essential oils. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 18. Extraction and chromatographic techniques of essential oils. - Balázs Viktória Lilla
• 19. Extraction - case studies - Bencsik Tímea
• 20. Extraction - case studies - Bencsik Tímea
• 21. TLC and HPLC - case studies - Bencsik Tímea
• 22. TLC and HPLC - case studies - Bencsik Tímea
• 23. Quality of herbal products; our experiences in the Department of Pharmacognosy. - Bencsik Tímea
• 24. Quality of herbal products; our experiences in the Department of Pharmacognosy. - Bencsik Tímea
• 25. Written test - Bencsik Tímea
• 26. Written test - Bencsik Tímea
• 27. Visiting the phytochemistry laboratory, opportunity to make up for written test - Bencsik Tímea
• 28. Visiting the phytochemistry laboratory, opportunity to make up for written test - Bencsik Tímea

Practices

Seminars

Reading material

Obligatory literature

Literature developed by the Department

PowerPoint presentations prepared by lecturers.

Notes

Recommended literature

1. Handa S.S., Khanuja S.P.S., Longo G., Rakesh D.D.: Extraction Technologies for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, International Centre for Science and High Technology, Trieste, 2008

2. Reich E., Schibli A.: High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography for the Analysis of Medicinal Plants, Thieme, UK, 2007

3. Colegate S.M.: Bioactive Natural Products Detection Isolation and Structural Determination, CRC Press, 2008

4. Niessen W.M.A.: Liquid Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry, CRC Press, 2006

5. Nyiredy, Sz.: Planar Chromatography, Springer, Budapest, 2001.

6. Harris, DC.: Quantitative Chemical Analysis, WH. Freeman and Co., 7th edition, New York, 2007,

7. Schiedt K., Liaaen-Jensen S.: Isolation and Analysis, in Carotenoids Vol. 1A: Isolation and Analysis, Eds.: Britton G., Liaaen-Jensen S., Pfander H., Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 1995.

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

The semester is accepted, if the student attends at least 75% of the classes and writes the written exam at an acceptable level (min. 60%).

Mid-term exams

One written exam during the semester, the acceptance level is 60%.

Making up for missed classes

There is no possibility to make up for a missed lecture and practice.

Exam topics/questions

The topics of the written test are similar to the topics of the lectures.

Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars

• Bencsik Tímea
• Benkő András Antal