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Homeopathic matrix tinctures of greater celandine (Chelidonium majus L.) were obtained using freshly collected and dried plant material (roots). The samples analyzed by GC -MS showed the presence of a combination of alkaloids including canadine, stylopine, homochelidonine, protopine, dihydronitidine, norchelerythrine, dihydroberberine, and norsanguinarine. Some of these compounds (dihydroberberine, norchelerythrine, and norsanguinarine) were present only in the tinctures prepared from dried material and not detected in the preparations obtained using freshly collected raw material. New methods for the quality control of homeopathic matrix tinctures of celandine root have been developed using qualitative chemical reactions and TLC on Sorbfil plates eluted in an ethyl acetate -ethanol -0.1 M sodium hydroxide (6 : 3 : 2) solution with reference to the standard solutions of sanguirythrine (sanguinarine + chelerythrine) and berberine in ethanol. The spots (adsorption bands) on the TLC plates are detected using a modified Dragendorff's reagent. Alkaloids are extracted from tinctures with chloroform. Quantitative estimation of the total alkaloid content (recalculated for sanguirythrine) was carried out by UV spectrophotometry at 278 nm. The total alkaloid content in homeopathic matrix tinctures obtained from freshly collected raw material varies within 0.015 -0.032%, and in that from dried material, within 0.028 -0.081%. 6030091-150X/05/3911-0603

Qualitative and quantitative contents of amino acids and N-containing substances isolated from lipophilic fractions of tinctures derived from both freshly collected plants and dried material of Urtica dioica L. and U. urens L. in accordance with homeopathic technology were studied using amino-acid analysis and GC-MS techniques. The amino-acid composition includes 18 compounds. The content of free amino acids amounted to 0.02 -0.21%; that of bound amino acids, 0.03 -0.29%, both being higher in tinctures obtained from freshly collected raw material. A comparison of the amino-acid contents before and after hydrolysis shows that amino acids are present in tinctures mostly in the free form. The analyses of tinctures showed the presence of pyrazine and pyrazole derivatives, including 4-ethyl-4,5-dihydro-5-propyl-1H-pyrazol-1-carboxyaldehyde isomers and hexahydropyrrolo[1, 2-a]pyrazin-1,4-dione derivatives with 3-alkyl and 3-phenylmethyl substituents in addition to 5,10-diethoxy-2,3,7,8-tetrahydro-1H,6H-dipyrrolo[1,2-a; 1¢,2¢-d]pyrazine. These biologically active compounds may contribute to the pharmacological effect of urtica-based phytopreparations. 650 0091-150X/08/4211-0650

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