Is Carthamine a Single Component

A chromatographically pure sample of red pigment from dyer’s saffron (Carthamus tinctorius L) was separated into two distinct reddish components on an insoluble polyvinyl polypyrrolidone column, developed with acetone/methanol/water. These components were isolated, purified and subjected to the analytical processes. Using standard analytical techniques, only slight difference could be detected between the two types of carthamine. However, a marked difference was displayed by optical rotary dispersion spectroscopy of the two samples. This provides evidence for the existence of two geometrical isomers of carthamine