I have a methanolic extract of a type of plant, which contains compounds with bioactivity. However, I noticed that while fresh extracts produces 4 bands of bioactive compounds on a TLC, older extracts only have 1 band. Is it possible that methanol causes degradation of the bioactive compounds over time?
Long time storage might result in the formation of artifacts which may lead to misleading results.
I think oxygen may have a greater role to play in this situation.
degradation perse - probably not, modification - yes, e.g. trans esterification, also sedimentation, dehydration - the latter depends on the percentage of the methanol, and as mentioned above, methanol may accelerate oxygenation, which is dependent on availability of oxygen and other oxidizing agents in your extract,
Degradation not. Possible modification. You must treat the samples immediately. Do not leave them for long.
Dear
I think that there are some phenolic compounds and some OH free with non hermetic storage, thus with oxygen, it could be produced oxydation of your products. Meanwhile, sometimes the produced products have some biological activities.
With regards
If your extract contains volatile aromatic compounds, on long storage depending on the conditions of storage either some of the volatile compounds may be lost or artifacts may be produced due to chemical reactions.
one of the main subjects in keeping extracts for long time is that we should keep the extract in dark and sealed vials or we should dry the extract until using.
If your extract is of hygroscopic nature, i.e.,presence of free -0H containing compounds in it and it is not preserved in dark and sealed vials as suggested by previous researcher, there is possibility of degradation.
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