Isolation of some quaternary alkaloids from the extract of roots of Chelidonium majus L. by column and thin-layer chromatography

A chromatographic system comprising untreated silica gel and an aqueous buffer - methanol eluent was investigated for the micropreparative separation of the alkaloids of Chelidonium majus L. The relationship between the logarithm of the retention factors k of the alkaloids and volume fraction of methanol at pH* 6 was linear for volume fractions in the range of 0.1 to 0.4. From this relationship it is possible to estimate the value of the retention factor for a given alkaloid in pure buffer and then the maximum volume of alkaloid extract that can be sampled on micropreparative column filled with silica gel.