Determination of acyl-saikosaponin in radix bupleuri / 中国药学杂志

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To establish the determination method of acyl-saikosaponin in Radix Bupleuri. METHODS: Single factor analysis and orthogonal experimental design were used to optimize the acyl-saikosaponin hydrolysis parameters such as concentration of aqueous ammonia, time of ultrasound-assisted hydrolysis and ultrasound power by L9 (34) orthogonal test. An HPLC method was employed to determine the saikosaponins contents, which was carried out on a WondaSil C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm) with the mobile phase of methanol-water (5347) at the flow rate of 1.0 mL · min-1 and the wavelength of 210 nm. RESULTS: The optimized conditions of acyl-saikosaponin hydrolysis were as follows the concentration of aqueous ammonia was 23%, the time of ultrasound-assisted hydrolysis was 25 min, and the ultrasound power was 350 W. The content of acyl-saikosaponin in the Radix Bupleuri samples purchased in 12 different drug stores was lower than that of saikosaponin in Radix Bupleuri. CONCLUSION: This method is simple and reliable, which can be used for the determination of acyl-saikosaponin in Radix Bupleuri and provides clues for the quality assessment of Radix Bupleuri.