ABSTRACT
Herba Epimedii (named Yinyanghuo in Chinese) of the family Berberidaceae is one of the most famous traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) recorded in the pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China.Total flavonoids of Epimedium (TFE) are considered to be its active components.TFE content was measured by ultraviolet method and its representative constituents,icariin and epimedin C,were determined by high performance liquid chromatography.The test results from 36 samples of 4 species showed that the contents differed significantly in different species.The average data of the summation (icariin and epimedin C) content were 20.83,7.61,14.43,23.29 mg/g in Epimedium pubescens Maxim.,E.koreanum Nakai.,E.brevicornum Maxim.,E.sagittatum (Sieb.Et Zucc.) Maxim.,respectively.Both E.sagittatum and E.pubescens performed better than the other two batches.E.sagittatum hardly has any circulation in Chinese herbal medicine market.The results showed that E.pubescens,which had much more amounts of icariin,epimedin C and TFE than those of other species,has a better quality and may be considered as potential anti-osteoporosis drug.