ABSTRACT
Objective: To establish an HPLC method for the content determination of cucurbitacin B and E in cucurbitaceae plants, and evaluate the quality of cucurbits by grey relational analysis.Methods: A Diamonsil-C18 column (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) was adopted and the UV detection wavelength was 234 nm at the flow rate of 1.0 ml·min-1.The mobile phase consisted of 0.1% acetic acid and acetonitrile with gradient elution, and the column temperature was 30℃.In addition,grey relational analysis was carried out for the comprehensive evaluation.Results: The linear range of cucurbitacin B and E was 0.894-44.715 μg·ml-1(r=0.999 6) and 0.257-12.825 μg·ml-1(r=0.999 7),respectively.The average recovery was 98.8%-100.3% and 98.0%-100.1%(RSD＜0.88%,n=6), respectively.According to the grey correlation analysis on the components, Cucumis melo L had the best quality, and Momordica cochinchinensis (Lour.) Spreng showed the worst quality.Conclusion: The established method is rapid and convenient, which can be used for the content determination of cucurbitacin B and E in cucurbits, and the comprehensive quality evaluation of cucurbits.