ABSTRACT
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This chapter is intended to illustrate the broad range of applications of TLC for the analysis of medicinal plants and derived products. While phytochemical research, in general, focuses on plant constituents and their pharmacological activities we want to describe analytical aspects of quality, efficacy, and safety of raw materials and products. Those aspects are usually related to regulatory issues and typically monitored by authorities. There are different approaches to medicinal plants and their use in Traditional Western, Traditional Chinese, and Ayurvedic Medicine on one hand side and botanical dietary supplements on the other. Correspondingly the analytical
challenges can be quite different. Although one technique alone is not able to answer all questions, TLC is most versatile and therefore widely applicable. This chapter raises common analytical questions of plant analysis and works out possible solutions. The available literature is reviewed and key applications of TLC, novel approaches as well as official guidelines and methods are summarized.
