Chromatographic Identification of Big Sagebrush Seed

Abstract

Paper and thin-layer chromatography of big sagebrush seed provides a rapid, simple means of identifying more palatable forms of this shrub. Methanol extraction of seed for 24 hr followed by two-dimensional paper (n-butanol:acetone:water, 4:1:3; acetic acid: water; 15:85) or single-dimensional thin-layer chromatography (chloroform:methanol:water; 85:10:5) reveals distinctive differences between Artemisia tridentata subsp. tridentata and the more palatable subsp. vaseyana and wyomingensis. A bright, iridescent blue spot characterizes the more palatable subspecies; the same spot is much smaller and duller in A. tridentata subsp. tridentata.