HPLC fingerprint of Chinese materia medica elephant skin / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To establish an HPLC method for the fingerprint analysis on Chinese materia medica (CMM) elephant skin so as to provide the evidence for the quality control and application of elephant skin. Methods: To extract amino acids by the method of hydrolysis in 6 mol/L HCL and use phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) as the derivating agent. The Hypersil ODS-2 C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) was used. Under the condition of gradient elution, the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, the UV detection wavelength was 254 nm, and the column temperature was 40℃. The similarity was analyzed with "Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of TCM 2004A". Results: The HPLC characteristic fingerprint of elephant skin has been established. A total of 18 common peaks were characterized, and 17 of them were identified by comparing their retention time with reference substances. The result showed that the amino acid constituents had a high similarity. Seventeen kinds of amino acids in elephant skin were detected. Conclusion: It is the first time to establish the HPLC fingerprint of elephant skin. The method is simple and quick, which provides the scientific basis for the comprehensive quality control of elephant skin.