title: Quality evaluation of Polygala japonica through simultaneous determination of six bioactive triterpenoid saponins by HPLC-ELSD.
abstract: Polygala japonica Houtt (Polygalaceae), a traditional Chinese herb, has been used as expectorant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antidepressant agent. To evaluate the quality of P. japonica, a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of six active triterpenoid saponins. With a Discovery C(18) analytical column, the analytes were separated efficiently using acetonitrile-methanol-0.05% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) as mobile phase in a gradient program. The evaporator tube temperature of ELSD was set at 105 degrees C, and with the nebulizing gas flow-rate of 2.6l/min. All calibration curves showed good linear regression (gamma>0.9991) within the tested range. Additionally, reproducibility for the quantification of six saponins in P. japonica with intra- and inter-day variations of less than 5.0% was observed. Quantification of the six active saponins in P. japonica from different locations was performed by this newly developed method, which provides a new tool for the assessment of quality of P. japonica.
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Prescription, China Pharmaceutical University, Box C-09, No. 1 Shennong Road, Nanjing 210038, PR China.
authors.forename: Honglan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Danni
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Boyang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry*; D008027:Light; D015394:Molecular Structure; D031801:Polygala / Q000737:chemistry*; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012503:Saponins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D012503:Saponins