High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Ultraviolet Detection and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Bioactive Compounds of Urtica dioica Leaf Extracts Using Various Solvents
- 1Department of Pharmaceutics, College of Pharmacy, University of Duhok, Duhok City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
- 2Department of Medicinal Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, University of Duhok, Duhok City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
Abstract
Urtica dioica, commonly referred to as stinging nettle, is a medicinal plant rich in therapeutic bioactives. This study examined how different solvents—petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol, and deionized water—with varying polarities influence the extraction and identification of phytochemicals from Urtica dioica using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography analysis based on retention time comparison with reference standards revealed that petroleum ether and chloroform extracts contained sterols, specifically Stigmasterol and β-Sitosterol. In contrast, ethanol and deionized water extracts exhibited six distinct peaks, comprising four phenolic acids (p-Coumaric acid, Caffeic acid, Ferulic acid, and Gallic acid) along with Rutin and Quercetin flavonoids.
Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis based on GC-MS library-based identification demonstrated that the petroleum ether extract contained diverse bioactive compounds, such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, fatty esters, lactones and terpenoids. The chloroform extract primarily consisted of moderately polar compounds, including fatty acids, nitrogenous heterocycles, terpenoids, derivatives of benzofuran, and esters. Meanwhile, the ethanol extract was rich in polar compounds, such as phenolic esters, fatty acids, terpenoids, and lactones. To our knowledge, this study represents one of the earliest comprehensive solvent-based analyses of Urtica dioica conducted in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, offering region-specific preliminary phytochemical profiling rather than definitive structural confirmation. Further confirmation using advanced techniques such as LC-MS/MS or NMR is required.
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BibTeX
@article{haido2026highperformance,
title = {{High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Ultraviolet Detection and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Bioactive Compounds of Urtica dioica Leaf Extracts Using Various Solvents}},
author = {Mary H. Haido and Nidhal Meena Sher Mohammed},
journal = {Ma’aen Journal for Medical Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.55810/2789-9136.1095},
url = {https://doi.org/10.55810/2789-9136.1095},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Ultraviolet Detection and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Analyses of Bioactive Compounds of Urtica dioica Leaf Extracts Using Various Solvents
AU - Mary H. Haido
AU - Nidhal Meena Sher Mohammed
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/01
JO - Ma’aen Journal for Medical Sciences
DO - 10.55810/2789-9136.1095
UR - https://doi.org/10.55810/2789-9136.1095
AB - Urtica dioica, commonly referred to as stinging nettle, is a medicinal plant rich in therapeutic bioactives. This study examined how different solvents—petroleum ether, chloroform, ethanol, and deionized water—with varying polarities influence the extraction and identification of phytochemicals from Urtica dioica using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results of high-performance liquid chromatography analysis based on retention time comparison with reference standards revealed that petroleum ether and chloroform extracts contained sterols, specifically Stigmasterol and β-Sitosterol. In contrast, ethanol and deionized water extracts exhibited six distinct peaks, comprising four phenolic acids (p-Coumaric acid, Caffeic acid, Ferulic acid, and Gallic acid) along with Rutin and Quercetin flavonoids. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis based on GC-MS library-based identification demonstrated that the petroleum ether extract contained diverse bioactive compounds, such as fatty acids, fatty alcohols, fatty esters, lactones and terpenoids. The chloroform extract primarily consisted of moderately polar compounds, including fatty acids, nitrogenous heterocycles, terpenoids, derivatives of benzofuran, and esters. Meanwhile, the ethanol extract was rich in polar compounds, such as phenolic esters, fatty acids, terpenoids, and lactones. To our knowledge, this study represents one of the earliest comprehensive solvent-based analyses of Urtica dioica conducted in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, offering region-specific preliminary phytochemical profiling rather than definitive structural confirmation. Further confirmation using advanced techniques such as LC-MS/MS or NMR is required.
SN - 2789-9136
SN - 2789-9128
ER -