Kowalska, T.; Sajewicz, M. Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) in the Screening of Botanicals–Its Versatile Potential and Selected Applications. Molecules2022, 27, 6607.
Kowalska, T.; Sajewicz, M. Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) in the Screening of Botanicals–Its Versatile Potential and Selected Applications. Molecules 2022, 27, 6607.
Kowalska, T.; Sajewicz, M. Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) in the Screening of Botanicals–Its Versatile Potential and Selected Applications. Molecules2022, 27, 6607.
Kowalska, T.; Sajewicz, M. Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) in the Screening of Botanicals–Its Versatile Potential and Selected Applications. Molecules 2022, 27, 6607.
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to present a comprehensive overview of the main aims and scopes in screening of botanicals, a task which thin-layer chromatography (TLC) is on an everyday basis confronted with and engaged in. Stunning omnipresence of this modest analytical technique (both in its standard format (TLC) and the high-performance one (HPTLC), either hyphenated or not) for many analysts might at a first glance appear chaotic and random, with an auxiliary rather than leading role in research, and not capable of issuing meaningful final statements. Based on these reflections, our purpose is not to present a general review paper on TLC in screening of botanicals, but a blueprint rather (illustrated with a selection of practical examples), which highlights a sovereign and important role of TLC in accomplishing the following analytical tasks: (i) solving puzzles related to chemotaxonomy of plants, (ii) screening a wide spectrum of biological properties of plants, (iii) providing quality control of herbal medicines and alimentary and cosmetic products of biological origin, and (iv) tracing psychoactive plants under forensic surveillance.
Keywords
TLC screening of plants; TLC screening of psychoactive plants; TLC-direct bioautography; effect directed detection; chemotaxonomy of plants; quality control of medicinal plants; quality control of alimentary products; quality control of cosmetic products
Subject
Chemistry and Materials Science, Analytical Chemistry
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
