Extraction and determination of quercetin and kampferol in Foeniculum vulgare Mill

This research was aimed to extract and measure the quercetin and kampferol in Foeniculum vulgare Mill. For this purpose, in the end of May 2010, samples were collected from Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, and then various organs (flowers, leaves, stems, and seeds) were extracted with different methods. In the first method, samples were extracted with chloroform solvent by Soxhlet for 72 hours. In the second method, after removing the solvent, methanol was added to the previous sample extracted with chloroform solvent and extraction was repeated. In the third method, depending on the amount of dry matter, different organs of fresh fennel were weighted; then they were grounded with the solvents of methanol and acetic acid (ratio 1:9) by electric mill and were filtered simoltaneously. In the fourth method, new plants, in accordance with dry matter content of each organ, were grounded by electric mill and soaked for a week with the solvents of methanol and acetic acid (ratio 1:9) and then were filtered. Then, all samples were concentrated to 30 ml. A total of 32 samples were obtained and the composition of quercetin and kampferol was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results showed that most of the quercetin in Foeniculum vulgare Mill., obtained in flower (2990ppm), leaves (1223ppm) and seed (1779ppm) was related to the method of extraction with methanol, and in stem (1316ppm) was related to the method of maceration with methanol-acetic acid. Also, the lowest quercetin obtained in flower (17ppm), leaves (15ppm), stem (9ppm), and seed (50ppm) was related to the first method (extraction with chloroform). In the same culture conditions, the highest value of kampferol obtained in flower (912ppm), leave (273ppm), stem (184ppm) and seed (1142ppm), was related to the method of maceration with methanol-acetic acid while the lowest kampferol obtained in flower (209), leave (55), stem (45) and seed (427), was related to the chloroform extraction method.