Estimation and Comparison of Amount of Organic Acids from Dried Leaves of Garcinia cambogia, Garcinia indica, Garcinia xanthochymus, and Garcinia morella by High‑Performance Liquid Chromatography

Background: Pharmacological properties of (‑)‑hydroxycitric acid (HCA) derived from plants are extensively investigated for preventing lipid storage and controlling appetite. The Garcinia species is most sought out species to recover (‑)‑HCA. Objectives: Organic acids from dried leaves of Garcinia cambogia, Garcinia indica, Garcinia xanthochymus, and Garcinia morella were extracted and analyzed by high‑performance liquid chromatography. Materials and Methods: Oven‑dried leaves of the four plant samples were subjected to Soxhlet water extraction and further acid extraction. After evaporation, the residue was mixed with 50 ml, 30% orthophosphoric acid. 20 μL of the sample was injected to a reversed‑phase C₁₈ column under gradient elution solvent containing 0.2 M sodium sulfate with a pH of 2.5 adjusted with dilute H2SO4. At a flow rate of 0.5 mL/min, reading was taken using ultraviolet detection at 215 nm. Chromatograms of (‑)‑HCA, lactone, and citric acid were obtained for standards and the samples. Results: The amount of (‑)‑HCA, lactone, and citric acid in the dry leaves of G. cambogia was estimated at 7.95%w/w, 3.25%w/w, and 0.13%w/w, respectively. In G. indica, the components were estimated at 5.71%w/w, 3.21%w/w, and 0.07%w/w, respectively. In the dry leaves of G. xanthochymus, it was estimated at 0.02%w/w, 0.06%w/w, and 0.18%w/w. In G. morella, it was estimated at 0.0%w/w, 0.01%w/w, and 0.29%w/w. G. cambogia and G. indica have high amounts of (‑)‑HCA and lactone in samples of dried leaves. (‑)‑HCA and lactone are absent in G. morella. Higher amounts of citric acid were found in the leaves of G. morella.