Quantitative determination of 1-Deoxynojirimycin in different Mulberry Varieties of India

Mulberry is the chief food plant for silkworm further mulberry is also having many active pharmacokinetics principles. DNJ is one of the active pharmacokinetic principles with potent capability of inhibiting hyperglycemia. In our study, we screened some of the important mulberry varieties of south India to identify the DNJ content. Derivatized samples of each variety of mulberry leaves were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array detector. Derivatization of each sample was done by the 9-fluorenylmethyl succinimidyl carbonate. DNJ concentration varied between 0.68-2.72 mg/gm in different mulberry varieties (K-2, S-13, S-34, and V-1). The order of 1deoxynojirimycin concentration in different verities was K-2 > S-13 > S-34 > V-1. Though V-1 variety was developed by breeding methods it did not contains more content of DNJ when compared to the K-2 which was developed by natural selection. As K-2 variety exhibited highest content of 1-deoxynojirimycin it can be exploited for extracting 1-deoxynojirimycin commercially for pharmaceutical purpose.