Separation Of Veratridine Alkaloids

Veratridin alkaloids are a family of compounds that are commonly found in plants belonging to the genus Veratrum and are widely used to perform some very unique yet essential biological functions.

These veratridin alkaloids/compounds need to be separated from the sourced mixture before they can be used in various applications. This process of separation and purification of the alkaloids using the column chromatography technique is performed using silica gel column chromatography. 

Column chromatography using Silica Gel can be used to isolate the veratridine alkaloids from this mixture. The mixture containing the veratridine alkaloids is poured from the top of the column and as it passes through the entire length of the column, different substances present in the mixture interact differently with the column material, here silica gel, gets separated due to its interaction capacity.

By the time the mixture reaches the end of the column chromatography phase through the adsorption material, veratridine alkaloids are separated from the mixture, just like other elements and compounds of the mixture. 

Since Swambe's silica gel is a porous and highly adsorbent material, it is used in the column chromatography technique to filter out the mixture into separate compounds. The selective separation capabilities of Silica gel also are a great advantage that allows to adsorb of different compounds at different stages in the column.

When the mixture containing veratridine alkaloids is applied to the top of the column that contains silica gel in the stationary stage, the different components begin to move down the column at different rates.

Veratridine alkaloids, have some specific chemical properties, that react well with silica gel and get adsorbed easily in the column, thus separating them from the other less interactive compounds, that do not get adsorbed and move out of the column easily.

The separated compounds that are left in the column are then collected using a trickling technique using a solvent. They are then collected and analyzed using varied techniques, for example, thin-layer chromatography to determine the presence of the veratridine alkaloids.

If this initial separation of the veratridine alkaloids wasn’t pure enough, it is re-run through the column again to improve its purity. This can be repeated numerous times till the purity levels increase.