ABSTRACT
Objective To establish a stable and reliable HPLC method and fingerprint reference substance for the measurement of the fingerprint, the practical quality control, and assay of the water-soluble components of Salvia miltiorrhiza. Methods The HPLC was run on C 18 columns with methanol-1.0 % glacial acetic acid solution as mobile phase in gradient elution mode at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The chromatographic system suitability, the gradient elution mode, mobile phase acidity, and the effect of column type on fingerprint repeatability were tested. Results The HPLC fingerprints of the water-soluble extract of reference S. miltiorrhiza were obtained with very good resolution under the established chromatographic system. Fifteen peaks in the chromatograms were selected for the fingerprint identification and quality control of S. miltiorrhiza. The quality of ten batches of S. miltiorrhiza samples from different hibitats were assessed by comparing their chromatographic fingerprints with the reference fingerprints obtained at the same time, and the similarity showed no difference, eventhough the column filler was changed. Conclusion Because the inherent complexity of medicinal material components has been reflected by chromatographic fingerprints, there are many factors affecting the fingerprint repeatability for the changes of column type. The results of the quality assessment of S. miltiorrhiza, using fingerprints from different columns, are not all coincidence. In order to obtain the comparable and repeatable results in different laboratories, it is much practical with both a defined chromatographic system suitability and a fingerprint reference substance.