ABSTRACT
Objective: To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous determination of cafferic acid, forsythoside A, forsythoside B, rutin, hyperoside, forsythin, and arctigenin in Forsythia suspensa. Methods: The analysis was carried out on an Inertsil ODS-3 C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm). The mobile phase was composed of acetonitrile and 0.2% phosphorie acid aqueous with gradient elution. The detection wavelength was set at 275 nm. The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min at column temperature of 30 °C. Results: Cafferic acid, forsythoside A, forsythoside B, rutin, hyperoside, forsythin, and arctigenin were well separated by this method, and showed a good linearity in the ranges of 18.24-91.20, 5.88-29.40, 132.60-663.00, 8.34-41.70, 1.96-9.80, 7.60-38.00, and 11.34-56.70 μg/mL, respectively. The average recoveries of the seven components were 97.7%, 96.7%, 102.6%, 101.3%, 93.2%, 91.8%, and 96.7% and the RSD values were 2.3%, 1.4%, 2.4%, 2.2%, 1.0%, 1.0%, and 1.3%, respectively. Conclusion: The established method is accurate, reliable, and could be used for the simultaneous determination of the seven components in F. suspense, which provides a scientific basis for the quality evaluation of F. suspense.