Distribution of gymnemic acid in various organs of Gymnema sylvestre

The gymnemic acid contents in various organs of Gymnema sylvestre were investigated by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) method. The results shows that the content of gymnemic acid in various organs, obviously different, was 54.29, 31.66, 28.82, 27.67, 25.39, 20.56 and 1.31 mg·g⁻¹ DW in shoot tips, flowers, nodes, leaves, internodes, roots and seeds, respectively. The highest gymnemic acid content (54.29 mg·g⁻¹ DW) was found in shoot tip, 1.96 fold higher than that in leaves (27.67 mg·g⁻¹ DW). Maximum quantity of gymnemic acid (35.39 mg·g⁻¹ DW) was observed in the young leaves, which was 1.52 times higher than that in old leaves (23.07 mg·g⁻¹ DW). The content of gymnemic acid in young, middle and old internodes was 26.47, 25.77 and 23.94 mg·g⁻¹ DW, respectively, all lower than that in leaves (27.67 mg·g⁻¹ DW), whereas the content of gymnemic acid in young, middle and old nodes was 27.96, 28.81 and 29.66 mg·g⁻¹ DW, respectively, all higher than that in leaves. The study provides the scientific evidences for the rational development and utilization of Gymnema sylvestre resources, since over exploitation of natural stands has caused depletion of these plants in nature. Foundation project: This work was supported by University Grants Commission, New Delhi (No. 33-88/2007 (SR))