Background: Michelia champaca L. (Magnoliaceae) popularly known as Champa is a reservoir of numerous bio-markers, and assumes greater significance in view of its rich chemistry. Objective: In the present study a High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography method has been used for detection, and quantification of gallic acid in Michelia champaca (leaves and stem-bark). Materials and Methods: Increasing serial dilutions of reference standard gallic acid (200 to 1000 μg mL-1) were scanned at 254 nm to detect and quantify its concentrations in the test samples. Results: The estimated values obtained from the same were 736.963 and 595.287 μg mL-1for leaves and stem bark respectively, amounting to 73.696 and 59.287 mg/g in the drug samples respectively. Leaves were found to be the richest source of gallic acid in Michelia champaca. Conclusion: The method provided a rapid and easy approach for detection and the quantitation of the poly-phenol gallic acid. The authors also aim to validate the present method in terms of ruggedness and accuracy and undertake the isolation studies on the said plant.
