Gogoi et al., IJPSR, 2014; Vol. 5(11): 4995-4999. E-ISSN: 0975-8232; P-ISSN: 2320-5148 International Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research 4995 IJPSR (2014), Vol. 5, Issue 11 (Research Article) Received on 23 April, 2014; received in revised form, 12 June, 2014; accepted, 31 July, 2014; published 01 November, 2014 ESTIMATION OF (-)-HYDROXYCITRIC ACID (HCA) IN GARCINIA LANCEAEFOLIA ROXB. USING NOVEL HPLC METHODOLOGY Ankur Gogoi 1* , Nabajyoti Gogoi 1 and Bijoy Neog 2 Centre for Studies in Biotechnology 1 , Dibrugarh University, Assam, India. Department of Life Sciences 2 , Dibrugarh University, Assam, India. ABSTRACT: (-)-Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) has been found to be the principal acid in genus Garcinia, which is a potential metabolic regulator of anti-obesity activity and inhibitor of lipogenesis. Presence of (-)-HCA as the principal acid has added importance to the genus Garcinia. The present study deals with extraction and estimation of (-)-HCA from Garcinia lanceaefolia, collected from four administrative districts of Assam, NE India. An improved HPLC methodology has been developed in the present study for estimation of (-)-HCA. Detection of (-)-HCA was done by observing the orange spot on paper chromatography. The R f values were observed at 0.34 and 0.45 for free HCA and HCA lactone, respectively. Estimation of (-)-HCA was done by HPLC analysis, using water as mobile phase by taking UV detection at 210 nm and has been found to be 4.56 ± 0.13gm/10gm of dried sample. This is the first report of its kind on Garcinia lanceaefolia Roxb. INTRODUCTION: (-)-Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) is a derivative of citric acid and has been found to be a potential metabolic regulator of anti-obesity activity and inhibitor of lipogenesis 1-13 . Lewis and Neelakantan (1965), for the first time reported about Hydroxycitric acid (HCA) in Garcinia cambogia and Hibiscus sabdariffa and did isolation and its identification as (-)-HCA on the basis of chemical and spectroscopic studies 14 . In recent past (-)-HCA has been successfully isolated from other species of genus Garcinia. As Hydroxycitric acid (1, 2-dihydroxypropane-1, 2, 3-tricarboxylic acid) has two asymmetric centers, thereby two pairs of diastereoisomers or four different isomers (I, II, III and IV) are possible 15 (Figure 1). QUICK RESPONSE CODE DOI: 10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.5(11).4995-99 Article can be accessed online on: www.ijpsr.com DOI link: http://dx.doi.org/10.13040/IJPSR.0975-8232.5(11).4995-99 Being a γ-hydroxy acid, it cyclizes readily to the corresponding lactone (Figure 2). The determination of absolute configuration was done from Hudson’s lactone rule, circular dichrosim curves, optical rotator dispersion curves and calculation of partial molar rotations 16 . FIGURE 1: A, B, C AND D ARE FOUR DIFFERENT ISOMERS OF HYDROXYCITRIC ACID. Keywords: (-)-Hydroxycitric acid, (-)-HCA, Garcinia lanceaefolia, anti-obesity, lipogenesis, HPLC, paper chromatography, endemic species, Assam, NE India Correspondence to Author: Ankur Gogoi Ph.D. Scholar, Centre for Studies in Biotechnology, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh- 786004, Assam, India. E-mail: agogoibiotech@dibru.ac.in