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Plant Science Today (PST)

Research Articles

Vol. 13 No. 3 (2026)

The isolation and multi-technique validation of kaempferol from Alcea rosea L. cultivated in Iraq

DOI
https://doi.org/10.14719/pst.14614
Submitted
20 March 2026
Published
02-07-2026 — Updated on 09-07-2026
Versions

Abstract

Alcea rosea L. from the family Malvaceae is a traditional medicinal plant used to treat inflammatory and respiratory disorders and contains diverse secondary metabolites. However, the detection, isolation and comprehensive analytical confirmation of flavonoid constituents from Iraqi-cultivated material have remained limited. Therefore, this study aimed to isolate kaempferol aglycone from the ethyl acetate extract and validate its identity by multiple analytical techniques. Aerial parts of the plant were collected from the gardens of the College of Pharmacy, AL-Mustansiriyah University (Baghdad, Iraq). Using a Soxhlet apparatus, 100 g of powdered material was defatted with n-hexane, extracted with 85 % methanol and partitioned to obtain the ethyl acetate extract. The target compound was detected by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) using an authentic standard and isolated by preparative TLC. Approximately 27 mg of isolated kaempferol was obtained from about 3 g of the ethyl acetate fraction. The confirmation was achieved by TLC and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) retention matching, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) functional group analysis, ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectral overlap, high-resolution liquid chromatography–electrospray ionisation–quadrupole time-of-flight–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI–QTOF-MS/MS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to report the isolation and multi-technique validation of kaempferol aglycone as one of the major constituents in the ethyl acetate fraction of Iraqi-cultivated A. rosea. These findings provide a practical workflow for future phytochemical standardisation and quality control studies of this medicinal plant.

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