Simultaneous quantitative determination of six active compounds from Paeoniae Rubra Radix and Paeoniae Alba Radix by HPLC / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: A high performance liquid chromatographic method was established to simultaneously quantify the gallic acid, methyl gallate, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, 1,2,3,4,6-O-pentagalloylglucose, benzoylpaeoniflorin of red peony root, and white peony root. Methods: The content of six components from 32 batches of samples collected from different product areas and markets was determined and compared by means of this established method. The mobile phase comprised of acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% phosphoric acid. Flow rate was 0.8 mL/min and column temperature was 30℃. Chromatography was monitored at 230 and 270 nm. Results: The correlation coefficients between concentration and chromatographic peak area of gallic acid, methyl gallate, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, 1,2,3,4,6-O-pentagalloylglucose, and benzoylpaeoniflorin, respectively were over 0.9999 in the ranges of 0.7830-50.10, 1.094-70.00, 2.367-151.5, 7.823-500.6, 3.125-200.0, and 0.3480-22.25 μg/mL. The average recoveries of the six compounds were 102.1%, 98.88%, 99.25%, 100.4%, 104.2%, and 100.6%, respectively. Conclusion: All the contents of albiflorin, 1,2,3,4,6-O-pentagalloylglucose, gallic acid, and methyl gallate show a remarkable difference between Paeoniae Rubra Radix and Paeoniae Alba Radix. And the latter usually contains more monoterpene glycosides than the former dose except paeoniflorin. On the other hand, Paeoniae Rubra Radix, especially originating from Paeoniae veitchii always contains more polyphenols than Paeoniae Alba Radix dose.