Andrographolide and wedelolactone are active components of Andrographis paniculata and Eclipta alba, respectively. The extracts of these plants are used in many traditional hepatoprotective formulations. An attempt has been made to develop an accurate, precise and specific HPTLC method to quantify simultaneously both these chemical markers of diversified chemical structures in different dosage forms like tablet and syrup. Precoated silica 60F(254) plates with toluene:acetone:formic acid (9:6:1) as mobile phase and detection wavelength of 254 nm were used. The method was validated in terms of linearity, accuracy, precision and specificity. The calibration curve was found to be linear between 200 to 400 ng/spot for andrographolide and 100 to 200 ng/spot for wedelolactone. The limit of detection and the limit of quantification for andrographolide were 26.16 and 79.28 ng/spot, respectively and for wedelolactone 5.06 and 15.32 ng/spot, respectively.

Keywords: Andrographis paniculata; Andrographolide; Eclipta alba; HPTLC; hepatoprotective agents; wedelolactone.