ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:To establish the quality standard for Mian medicine Indigofera stachyoides. METHODS:Medicinal properties and microscopic characteristics were identified;TLC was used for the qualitative identification;HPLC was conducted for content determination of epicatechin and 2α,3α-epoxy-5,7,3′,4′-tetra-hydroxy-flavan-(4β→8)-epicatechin(reference A):the col-umn was Comatex TM C18 with mobile phase of acetonitrile- water at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min,and detection wavelength was 210 nm,column temperature was 30 ℃,injection volume was 5 μl. RESULTS:It showed clear microscopic identification map. I. stachyoides TLC had clear spots and well separated. The linear range was 0.274 5-4.392 0 μg (r=0.999 6) for epicatechin,and 0.103 0-1.648 3 μg for reference A(r=0.999 4),RSDs of precision,stability and reproducibility tests were lower than 3%,recov-eries were 99.76%-104.82%(RSD=2.42%,n=6) and 97.98%-104.99%(RSD=2.75%,n=6) respectively. CONCLUSIONS:The established standard can be used for the quality control of I. stachyoides.