title: Quantification of Aconitum alkaloids in aconite roots by a modified RP-HPLC method.
abstract: The three Aconitum alkaloids, aconitine (1), mesaconitine (2) and hypaconitine (3), are pharmacologically active but also highly toxic. A standardised method is needed for assessing the levels of these alkaloids in aconite roots in order to ensure the safe use of these plant materials as medicinal herbs. By optimising extraction, separation and measurement conditions, a reliable, reproducible and accurate method for the quantitative determination of all three Aconitum alkaloids in unprocessed and processed aconite roots has been developed. This method should be appropriate for use in the quality control of Aconitum products. The three Aconitum alkaloids were separated by a modified HPLC method employing a C18 column gradient eluted with acetonitrile and ammonium bicarbonate buffer. Quantification of Aconitum alkaloids, detected at 240 nm, in different batches of samples showed that the content of 1, 2 and 3 varied significantly. In general, the alkaloid content of unprocessed roots was higher than that of processed roots. These variations were considered to be the result of differences in species, processing methods and places of origin of the samples.
authors.affiliation: School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Hong
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Jing-Rong
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhong-Qiu
authors.initials: ZQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yuen-Fan
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Xiong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Hong-Xi
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000157:Aconitine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D031841:Aconitum / Q000737:chemistry*; D000470:Alkaloids / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry; D015394:Molecular Structure; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C058309:hypaconitine; C019470:mesaconitine; D000157:Aconitine