Optimisation of the chromatographic Determination of Polyphenols in the Aerial Parts of Cichorium intybus L

The aim of this workwas to contribute to the phytochemical characterization of Cichorium intybus L. var. silvestre, chicory Semi-preparative HPLC analysis was applied to an extract of fresh wild chicory leaves to separate and collect the main polyphenolic compounds. HPLC-diode-array detection (DAD), H PLC-MS, and NMR were used for the complete chemical characterization of all the compounds isolated. The molecules characterized were monocaffeoyl tartaric acid, chicoric acid, monocaffeoyl p-hydroxycin namoyl tartaric acid, caffeoyl feruloyl tartaric acid, chlorogenic acid, quercetin-3-O-glucuronide, luteolin-7-O-glucuronide, and q uercetin-3-O-g I ucoside. The chromatographic behaviour of the main components of the extract of the leaves has been compared on three different stationary phases - LiChrosorb RP18, Luna Cls, and Luna PhenyI-Hexyl.