ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To identify a characteristic chemical marker of Ranunculi Ternati Radix and establish a HPLC method for determination of its content. METHODS: Various chromatographic methods were applied to isolate the marker 4-[formyl-5-(hydroxymethyl)-1H-pyrrol-1-yl] butanoic acid, and its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The HPLC was performed on Agilent TC-C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) using CH3OH-H2O (containing 0.4% acetic acid) as the mobile phase. The flow rate was 1.0 mL · min-1 and the detection wavelength was set at 292 nm. RESULTS: 4-[formyl-5-(hydroxymethyl)-1H-pyrrol-1-yl] butanoic acid was isolated and identified as the chemical marker. The HPLC method showed good linearity within the range of 0.372-1.302 μg (r2=0.9998). The average recovery of 4-[formyl-5-(hydroxymethyl)-1H-pyrrol-1-yl] butanoic acid was 100.89% (n=6, RSD=0.83%). CONCLUSION: This method is simple, rapid and reliable for the quality control of Ranunculi Ternati Radix. Copyright 2012 by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.