The chromatographic study of the acetone extract of fagopyrum / Nur Amirah Zulkepli

Two samples of Fagopyrum species which are Fagopyrum esculentum Moench (common buckwheat) and Fagopyrum tataricum L. Gaertn (tartary buckwheat) were studied for their botanical and phytochemical aspects. In this research, the botanical aspect of Fagopyrum was introduced while the phytochemical aspect was investigated by thin layer chromatography (TLC), in order to detect the chemical constituents present in the seed extracts. The methodology included the isolation, purification and identification of its phytochemical constituents. The purification of the acetone extract was done by using analytical TLC and preparative TLC. The compounds of interest were subjected to nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) to identify their structure. The phytochemical that was successfully purified was identified as a fatty acid derivative. In addition, this result was supported by the literature that mentioned the isolation of unsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic (18: l ), linoleic (18 :2) and linolenic (18: 3) acids. Linoleic acid was reported as the major polyunsaturated fatty acid of the buckwheat lipid. In conclusion, the Proton NMR (1H-NMR) spectroscopy also provided useful data for analyzing fatty acid composition since the quantitation of each fatty acid signal was carried out by evaluating the particular peaks.