The species Alpinia purpurata is scarcely cited as to ethnopharmacology and phytochemistry. This study aimed to analyze bioactive compounds through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Hydroalcoholic crude extract was obtained from A. purpurata dried leaves. Folin-Ciocalteau method was used to quantify total phenols, using gallic acid as standard. The obtained result was 15.6 mg GAE g-1. The crude extract was partitioned with the solvents ethyl acetate and butanol, followed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and HPLC. The flavonoids kaempferol-3-O-glucuronide and rutin were detected at a higher concentration in ethyl acetate and butanolic extracts. The butanolic extract contains the highest flavonoid percentage (94.3%). A. purpurata presents important flavonoids of therapeutic use, already verified for A. zerumbet. This is the first study verifying the presence of flavonoids in A. purpurata extracts.
TLC; polyphenols; medicinal plants; rutin; Zingiberaceae
