Thin layer chromatography (TLC) is a chromatographic method used to separate non-volatile mixtures. Thin layer chromatography is performed on a sheet of glass, plastic or aluminum foil, which is coated with a thin layer of absorbent material usually like silica gel, aluminum oxide or cellulose. This absorbent layer is known as the stationary phase. Flavonoids are a diverse group of polyphenolic compounds among the secondary metabolites found naturally in various organs of higher plants. Flavonoids are a diverse group of polyphenolic compounds among secondary metabolites found naturally in different organs of plants. Rutin is also one of the flavonoids found in a many plants, including citrus and Caper. It has many medicinal properties including antioxidant, cytological protection, anticancer, neurological and cardiac protection. In this phytochemical study, ten solvent systems were used by thin layer chromatography (TLC) method to detect Rutin in different parts of the Caper collected from West Azarbaijan Province (Mahabad). Results showed that methanol-acetic acid glacial-acid formic acid-distilled water (3: 0.9: 0.9: 0.5), benzene-acetic acid - distilled water (125:72:3) and toluene-ethyl acetate-acetone-formic acid (5:2:2:1) and n-butanol-acetic acid-distilled water-formic acid (7:1:1:0.25) had the best results in detecting and isolating of this component on chromatography paper with the rate of solvent progression (Rf) 0.501, 0.33, 0.54 and 0.559, respectively. The later solvent system, due to proper distinction, separation and contrast, led to a better result, and can be considered as a standard solvent system for the isolation and identification of Rutin among bio-compounds in future research. Among different parts of Caper, the stems had Rutin, which also confirmed the results by High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).
