ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the quality of commercially available Fructus Aurantii Immaturus (FAI) and Fructus Aurantii FA). Methods: The HPLC fingerprints of FAI and FA were established, and then the quality of FAI and FA purchased from different drugstores was evaluated with multiple data process methods. Results: The quality problem of two batches of FAI were identified. The chemical components of FAI are generally consistent with those of FA. The cluster and principal component analysis methods could be used to distinguish FAI and FA. Conclusion: HPLC fingerprint method can be applied to evaluate the quality of FAI and FA, and to supervise and guide the manufacturers for the purpose of producing qualified products.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the HPLC fingerprint of the EtOAc extract, the major bioactive extract of Radix Paeoniae Alba (RPA), a traditional Chinese medicine from Paeonia lactiflora Pall., quantitatively determine main components in the EtOAc extract and perform fast RPA quality evaluation by the HPLC method using RPA samples from different areas of China to afford a useful method for the RPA quality control. Methods A Waters HPLC equipment with a 2996 photodiode array detector(PDA) was used for HPLC, and the PDA detector was set to scan a range from 200-400 μm. HPLC was carried out on a Scincehome C18 column (4. 6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm)using acetonitrile-aqueous phosphoric acid solution (pH 2.7) in a linear gradient at 1. 0 ml/min of the flow rate as mobile phase, and each 10 μl of sample solutions was injected to the column. HPLC chromatograms for fingerprint analysis were taken at 230 nm, and the fingerprint analysis was performed both by the similarity analysis and the hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA) methods. Results A standard fingerprint of RPA was obtained, where 11 peaks have been assigned using reference compounds. The similarity analysis and HCA upon the fingerprints from 33 batches of RPA samples gave grossly consistent results to divide these RPA into two categories. Moreover, an HPLC method to simultaneously determine 6 main components in RPA was established and applied to quantitatively determine the 6 components in 11 RPA samples purchased from different areas of China. Conclusion The quality evaluation of RPA by fingerprinting coupled with simultaneous determination of multi-components showed higher specificity and provided a useful HPLC method for quality control of RPA.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To develop a new method based on hydrophilic interaction chromatography-electrospray ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (HILIC-DAD-ESI-TOF/MS) for the rapid identification of the active components in Syngnathus acus and the development of their specific fingerprint chromatograms. Methods: Samples were extracted by accelerated solvent extraction, and the extraction conditions were optimized. The developed HILIC-DAD-ESI-TOF/MS method was used to identify the components in water extract from S. acus, and a chromatographic fingerprint based on HILIC analysis was established. Results: Ten compounds in S. acus extract could be primarily identified by HILIC-DAD-ESI-TOF/MS on-line detection, in which seven nucleosides were determined. The HPLC characteristic fingerprint was established on the basis of analysis on the multi batches of S. acus, which could be used to evaluate the quality of S. acus combined with similarity calculation. Conclusion: This method is simple and rapid, and is a powerful tool for the identification of S. acus.