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Detection and Quantification of Valerenic Acid in Commercially Available Valerian Products

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Pierce V. Kavanagh

Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

Ruth H. Douglas , Ciaran A. Muldowney , Rabab Mohamed , Fiona Keohane , Catherine Shanahan and John J. Walsh

Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

J. Chem. Educ., 2007, 84 (5), p 829

DOI: 10.1021/ed084p829

Publication Date (Web): May 1, 2007

Abstract

This experiment involves the detection and quantification of valerenic acid from herbal medicinal products containing Valeriana officinalis. Valerenic acid is a stable, robust compound and is easy to detect and quantify by GC–MS. Furthermore, as valerenic acid is only found in V. officinalis, it acts as a marker compound and can be used to verify that the product contains V. officinalis. Valerian has been used for hundreds of years as a natural sedative and as a spasmolytic agent. The project highlights the fact that often there are many constituents in herbal medicinal products, and therefore it may be necessary to carry out a selective extraction step before analysis can be performed on the constituent(s) of interest. The use of GC–MS allows the student to readily distinguish valerenic acid from the complex matrix of the many other secondary metabolites present in V.officinalis. The importance of using an internal standard in the quantification of active constituents present in herbal products is also highlighted. The students determined the percentage of valerenic acid in several products, with an average value of 0.044% per product. The Valerian products evaluated included Good 'n' Natural valerian root capsules, Valerina Day-time tablets, and Nature's Way Sleep Easy capsules.