High-performance thin-layer chromatography for quantification of 1-octacosanol in Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana)

1-Octacosanol is a straight-chain aliphatic 28-carbon fatty alcohol with well-known anti-fatigue function. In this study, 1-octacosanol was extracted from Antarctic krill for the first time. Separation of 1-octacosanol was achieved using high-performance thin-layer chromatography (TLC) with a mobile phase consisting of petroleum ether/ethyl acetate/toluene (4 : 1 : 0.05, v/v/v) on precoated silica gel GF254 high-performance TLC plates. The separated 1-octacosanol was quantified using spectrodensitometry with distilled water/bromothymol blue/sodium hydroxide (100 : 0.1 : 0.7, v/w/w) as a chromogenic system. The high-performance TLC method was validated with respect to specificity, linearity, intra- and interplate variation. The stability of the 1-octacosanol-chromogen complex and recovery of 1-octacosanol were also evaluated. Containing ~10.6 µg/mg 1-octacosanol, Antarctic krill is potentially a rich and renewable source of 1-octacosanol.