Rapid determination of paeonol in traditional Chinese medicinal preparations by microwave-assisted extraction followed by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) followed by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was developed for rapid determination of paeonol in four traditional Chinese medicinal preparations (TCMPs) including Liuwen Dihuang pills, Maiwei Dihuang pills, Guifu Dihuang pills, and Zhibai Dihuang pills. The optimal MAE conditions obtained were: microwave power of 540 W and irradiation time of 4 min, and HS-SPME optimal conditions were: fiber coating of 65 μm PDMS/DVB, extraction temperature of 70°C, extraction time of 10 min, stirring rate of 1100 rpm, and NaCl concentration 30%. The optimized method provided satisfactory precision (RSD 6.5%), good linearity (R ₂ > 0.997) and recovery (90%). The results showed that MAE-HS-SPME-GC-MS is a simple, rapid, efficient, and solvent-free technique for the quantitative determination of paeonol in TCMPs.     

Determination of rhein, baicalin and berberine in traditional Chinese medicinal preparations by capillary electrophoresis with two-marker technique

A CZE method for the identification and determination of three bioactive components, rhein, baicalin and berberine, was developed, with 10 mM borate at pH 9.20 as background electrolyte and direct UV detection at 254 nm. The two-marker (glycyrrhizin acid and cefalexin) technique was used to improve the repeatability of analysis. When the migration indices were used, the repeatability was greatly enhanced compared with migration times. The apparent dissociation contents of rhein and baicalin were also obtained. This method has been successfully applied to the simultaneous analysis of the three components with the recoveries from 96.7% to 104.6%.     

Electrophoretic behavior study and determination of some active components in Chinese medicinal preparations by capillary electrophoresis

The determination of icariin (IC), rhein (RH), chrysophanol (CH), physcion (PHY), glycyrrhetic acid (GE), and glycyrrhizic acid (GI), in traditional Chinese preparations, Anshen Bunao oral liquid and Maren pill, has been investigated by micellar electrokinetic capillary electrophoresis. With borate buffer (10 mM), SDS (20 mM) and acetonitrile (10%) as background electrolyte (pH 9.55), 20 kV applied voltage and 254 nm UV detection, the six active compounds were completely separated within 10 min. The effects of buffer pH, concentration of borate, SDS and modifier on electrophoretic behavior and separation are discussed. Regression equations revealed linear relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9960-0.9999) between the peak-area of each component and the content. In addition, the levels of the six active compounds in two kinds of traditional Chinese medicinal preparations were easily determined with recoveries of from 94.7% to 106.4%.     

Determination of active components in Chinese medicinal preparations by capillary electrophoresis

The determination of paeoniforin, paeonol, and censenoside Rg₁ in traditional Chinese medicinal preparations, Tze Po San Pien pills and Liuwen Dihuang pills has been investigated by micellar electrokinetic capillary electrophoresis with borate buffer (20 mM), sodium dodecylsulfate (30 mM) and acetonitrile (20%) as background electrolytes (pH 9.30), 20 kV applied voltage and 203 nm UV detection. The effects of SDS concentration, borate, buffer pH, and organic modifier on electrophoretic behavior and separation are discussed. Regression equations revealed linear relationships between the peak-area of each component and the content with the correlation coefficients from 0.9982 to 0.9999. In addition, the levels of the active compounds in two kinds of traditional Chinese medicinal preparations were easily determined with the recoveries from 93.1% to 108.2%.      

Non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis for simultaneous separation and determination of three major active components in traditional medicinal preparations

A simple and sensitive non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis method has been developed for simultaneous assay of three bioactive components (puerarin, daidzein and wogonin) in three traditional medicinal preparations for the first time. Optimum separation of the analytes was obtained on a 47 cm x 75 microm i.d. capillary using a non-aqueous buffer system of 20% acetonitrile, 25 mm ammonium acetate and apparent pH 9.00, with applied voltage and capillary temperature of 20 kV and 16 degrees C, respectively. The relative standard deviations (RSDs) of the migration times and the peak areas of the three analytes were in the ranges 2.5--4.0% and 3.2--3.9%, respectively. Detection limits of puerarin, daidzein and wogonin were 0.090, 0.145 and 0.090 microg mL(-1), respectively. In the tested concentration range, good linear relationships (correlation coef fi cients: 0.9998 for puerarin, 0.9998 for daidzein and 0.9978 for wogonin) between peak areas and concentrations of the analytes were observed. This method has been successfully applied to simultaneous determination of the three bioactive components with recoveries from 91.0 to 114.0%.     

Separation and determination of three phenylpropanoids in the traditional Chinese medicine and its preparations by capillary electrophoresis

Three phenylpropanoids (ferulic acid, chlorogenic acid, and caffeic acid) are simultaneously separated and determined within 13 min by a new capillary electrophoresis method using 15 mmol/L sodium borate (pH 8.71) as run buffer. The optimum conditions for the separation as well as the analytical characteristics, such as the calibration graph and limit of detection (LOD) for the determination of these three compounds, are studied. The linear range for the determination of ferulic, chlorogenic, and caffeic acid is 5.0 approximately 70.0, 8.0 approximately 112.0, and 9.0 approximately 64.0 microg/mL, with the LOD as 1.5, 2.25, and 6.0 microg/mL, respectively. The method, which is very simple, rapid, and of requisite sensitivity and reproduction, is satisfactorily used for the separation and determination not only of ferulic, chlorogenic, and caffeic acid in Cimicifuga foelida Li and its preparation (Yin-huang-han-pian), but also of ferulic acid and chlorogenic acid in Ligusticum chuanxiong hort. and Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels.     

Simultaneous determination of ofloxacin and ornidazole in pharmaceutical preparations by capillary zone electrophoresis

A simple, rapid and validated capillary electrophoretic method has been developed for the separation and determination of ofloxacin and ornidazole in pharmaceutical formulations with detection at 230 nm. Optimal conditions for the quantitative separations were investigated. Analysis times shorter than 4 min were obtained using a background electrolyte solution consisting of 25 mmol/L phosphoric acid adjusted with 1 m Tris buffer to pH 8.5, with hydrodynamic injection of 5 s and 20 kV separation voltage. The validation criteria for accuracy, precision, linearity and limits of detection and quantitation were examined and discussed. An excellent linearity was obtained in concentration range 25–250 µg/mL. The detection limits for ofloxacin and ornidazole were 1.03 ± 0.11 and 1.80 ± 0.06 µg/mL, respectively. The proposed method has been applied for the analysis of ofloxacin and ornidazole both individually and in a combined dosage tablet formulation. The proposed validated method showed recoveries between 96.16 and 105.23% of the nominal contents. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Determination of baicalin, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid in traditional chinese medicinal preparations by capillary zone electrophoresis

Summary A capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method was developed for the simultaneous assay of three bioactive components—baicalin, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid—in seven traditional Chinese medicinal preparations. The analytes were separated successfully within 3.5 min using 10 mM borate buffer (pH8.6). Regression equations revealed linear relationships (correlation coefficients 0.9942–0.9996) between the peak area and concentration of the three analytes. The relative standard deviations of the migration times and the peak areas of the three constituents were 1.12–2.68% and 1.62–5.73%, respectively. Recovery of the three constituents ranged from 89 to 107%. The extraction efficiencies of different extraction solutions are also discussed. The contents of the three components in seven different Chinese medicinal preparations containing Honeysuckle flower and/orScutellariae radix were determined by the CZE method with satisfactory results.     

Simultaneous determination of some active ingredients in anti-viral preparations of traditional Chinese medicine by micellar electrokinetic chromatography

A simple and rapid micellar electrokinetic chromatography method was developed for the simultaneous determination of quercetin, gentiopicrin, forsythin, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid in anti-viral preparations of traditional Chinese medicine (apTCM). In this method, the effects of buffer pH, concentration of the borax and SDS, organic modifiers, applied voltage and temperature on the separation were tested and discussed. The results showed that the fi ve analytes could be well separated within 11 min under conditions of 40 mM borax (pH 9.65) containing 20 mM SDS, 20 kV, at 25 degrees C. In the tested concentration range, regression equations revealed good linear relationships (correlation coefficients 0.9920-0.9991) between the peak areas and corresponding concentrations. In addition, a multiple linear regression QSPR model was constructed to predict the migration times of the analytes and the results were satisfactory. The method was validated by analysis of the five compounds in three representative apTCM samples with recoveries ranging from 89.2 to 106.6%.     

Simultaneous determination of nine aristolochic acid analogues in medicinal plants and preparations by high-performance liquid chromatography

By optimizing the extraction, separation and analytical conditions, a simple, reliable and effective high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD) is presented for simultaneous determination of nine aristolochic acid (AA) analogues, i.e., AA I, AA II, AA C, AA D, 7-OH AA I, aristolic acid, AL II, AL III and AL IV, in twelve medicinal herbs and two preparations. The separation was completed on a C18 column with aqueous methanol containing 0.2% (V/V) acetic acid as mobile phase. Linearities of around two orders of magnitude were obtained with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.9950. Satisfactory intra-day and inter-day precisions were achieved with R.S.D.s less than 4.35%, and the average recovery factors obtained were in the range of 88.4-98.8%. The proposed method appears to be suitable for use as a tool for safety assurance and quality control for commercially available suspect samples containing aristolochic acid analogues.     

Continuous capillary electrophoresis with flow injection and its application for determination of Ephedrine and Pseudo-ephedrine in Chinese medicinal preparations

This article presents a new, simple and rapid continuous separation method by combination of flow injection with capillary electrophoresis designed for the analysis of basic traditional Chinese medicines. The device was produced using commercial capillary and components readily available in analytical laboratory. In double-T configuration, the designed horizontal separation channel was 25 microm i.d. x 146 mm length (an effective separation length of 93 mm) quartz capillary, with two vertical elicitation arms produced from 0.5 mm i.d. pump tubing. The capillary was embedded in a 40 x 20 x 3 mm organic glass base. Using the double-T configuration, continuous introduction of a series of samples was achieved. More than 3.00 resolution for ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine were obtained using 100 mm borate buffer (pH 9.80) within 8 min in 25 microm separation channel with an electrical field strength of 137 V/cm (UV detection at 215 nm). The linear calibration range was 50-1500 microg/mL (ephedrine, r = 0.9982; pseudo-ephedrine, r = 0.9990) for both analytes. The limits of detection were 2.65 micro g/mL for ephedrine and 2.92 microg/mL for pseudo-ephedrine. In this device, the contents of ephedrine and pseudo-ephedrine in five Chinese medicinal preparations were determined with RSDs (n = 5) in range 1.16-4.51% and recoveries in range 90.4-114.6%.     

Simultaneous determination of atenolol,chlorthalidone and amiloride in pharmaceutical preparations by capillary zone electrophoresis with ultraviolet detection

Capillary zone electrophoresis methods for the simultaneous determination of the β‐blocker drugs, atenolol, chlorthalidone and amiloride, in pharmaceutical formulations have been developed. The influences of several factors (buffer pH, concentration, applied voltage, capillary temperature and injection time) were studied. Using phenobarbital as internal standard, the analytes were all separated in less than 4 min. The separation was carried out in normal polarity mode at 25°C, 25 kV and using hydrodynamic injection (10 s). The separation was effected in an uncoated fused‐silica capillary (75 μm i.d. × 52 cm) and a background electrolyte of 25 mm H₃PO₄ adjusted with 1 m NaOH solution (pH 9.0) and detection at 198 nm. The method was validated with respect to linearity, limit of detection and quantification, accuracy, precision and selectivity. Calibration curves were linear over the range 1–250 μg/mL for atenolol and chlorthalidone and from 2.5–250 μg/mL for amiloride. The relative standard deviations of intra‐ and inter‐day migration times and corrected peak areas were less than 6.0%. The method showed good precision and accuracy and was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of atenolol, chlorthalidone and amiloride in various pharmaceutical tablets formulations. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Separation and determination of active components in Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae and its medicinal preparations by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis

A nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) method was developed for simultaneous assay of three bioactive components (1: cryptotanshinone; 2: tanshinone IIA, and 3: tanshinone I) in Radix Salviae miltiorrhizae and in its herbal preparations for the first time. After optimization of separation conditions, a buffer of 250 mmol L(-1) ammonium acetate containing 30% acetonitrile and 1.0% acetic acid (V:V) in methanol was selected for separating the three analytes, but baseline separation of tanshinon I and tanshinone IIA was not obtained. Therefore second-order derivative electropherograms were applied for resolving overlapping peaks. Regression equations revealed good linear relationships (correlation coefficients 0.9943-0.9991) between peak heights in second-order derivative electropherograms and concentrations of the three analytes. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of the migration times and the peak height of the three constituents were in the range of 0.81 -0.88% and 0.34-1.13% (intra-day), 1.57-1.86% and 3.05-5.52% (inter-day), respectively. The recoveries of three constituents ranged from 90.2 to 108.5%. The results indicated that baseline separation of the analytes was sometimes hard to obtain and second-order derivative electropherograms were applicable for the resolving and analysis of overlapping peaks.     

Determination of cinnamic acid and paeoniflorin in traditional Chinese medicinal preparations by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of cinnamic acid in Cinnamomi ramulus and paeoniflorin in Paeoniae radix was established. The samples were separated by a LiChrospher RP-18 column with water-acetonitrile-methanolacetic acid (61:34:5:0.1 or 80:15:5:0.1, v/v) as the mobile phase at a flow-rate of 1.0 ml/min. Cinnamic acid and paeoniflorin were determined by UV detection at 280 and 250 nm, respectively. The method was applied to determine the optimum conditions for the extraction of the traditional Chinese medicinal preparation Huang Chi Chien Chung Tong, which contains Cinnamomi ramulus and Paeoniae radix. The results indicate that the best extraction conditions involved the use of an ultrasonic bath at 60 degrees C for 30 min. In this experiment, butyl paraben and methyl paraben were used as the internal standards for cinnamic acid and paeoniflorin, respectively. A good and reproducible separation of cinnamic acid and paeoniflorin was obtained within 15 min. The method was also applicable to other preparations that contain Cinnamomi ramulus and Paeoniae radix such as Guey Chi Chia Long Ku Muu Li Tong, Kuei Chi Chien Chung Tong and Tang Kuei Chien Chung Tong.     

Analysis of Sarcandra glabra and its medicinal preparations by capillary electrophoresis

A simple, rapid, selective and reproducible capillary electrophoresis (CE) method was firstly developed for the identification and determination of isofraxidin and fumaric acid in a traditional Chinese herb Sarcandra glabra and its medicinal preparations. The buffer solution used in this method was 7.5 mM NaH₂PO₄ and 7.5 mM borax solution adjusted to pH 8.60. The linear calibration range was 1.25-800 μg ml⁻¹ (r=0.9997) for isofraxidin and 10-800 μg ml⁻¹ (r=0.9992) for fumaric acid, respectively. Under the optimum conditions, the relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) values of the migration time and the peak area were 0.47, 3.45% for isofraxidin and 0.83, 3.24% for fumaric acid, respectively. The recoveries ranged between 95.4-103.8% for isofraxidin and 97.1-104.7% for fumaric acid, respectively. The contents of isofraxidin and fumaric acid in Sarcandra glabra and two kinds of Sarcandra glabra-containing Chinese medicinal preparations were successfully determined within 8 min.     

Separation and determination of alantolactone and isoalantolactone in traditional Chinese herbs by capillary electrophoresis

A simple micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method, using a 20 mM borate buffer (pH 8.0) with 25 mM SDS in the presence of 10% (V/V) methanol, was established for the identification and determination of two isomers, alantolactone (AL) and isoalantolactone (IAL), in the extracts of Inula helenium L. and Inula racemosa Hook f. Regression equations revealed linear relationships (correlation coefficients: 0.9990 for AL, 0.9991 for IAL) between the peak area of AL and IAL and their concentration. The relative standard deviations of the migration time and peak area of the two constituents were 1.51, 1.62 and 2.01, 1.98%, respectively. The recoveries of the two constituents ranged between 95–105% for AL and 93–108% for IAL.     

Separation and determination of active components in Schisandra chinensis Baill. and its medicinal preparations by non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis

A simple, economical and effective non-aqueous capillary electrophoresis separation and detection method was developed for the quantification of deoxyschizandrin and gamma-schizandrin in Schisandra chinensis Baill. and its medicinal preparations for the first time. After optimization of separation conditions, a buffer of 140 mmol/L sodium cholate in methanol was selected for separating the two analytes, but baseline separation of SA and SB in real samples was not obtained. Therefore second-order derivative electropherograms were applied for resolving overlapping peaks. Regression equations revealed good linear relationships (correlation coefficients 0.9975--0.9988) between peak heights in second-order derivative electropherograms and concentrations of the two analytes. The relative standard deviations (RSD) of the migration times and the peak height of the two constituents were in the ranges 0.62--0.79% and 0.25--2.17% (intra-day) and 1.43--2.06 and 4.08--5.72% (inter-day), respectively. The recoveries of the two constituents ranged from 93.2 to 103.0%. The results indicated that baseline separation of the analytes was sometimes hard to obtain in real samples and second-order derivative electropherograms were applicable for the resolution and analysis of overlapping peaks.     

毛细管电泳法分离测定芦丁、槲皮素和连翘苷

用毛细管电泳紫外检测法同时测定了芦丁、槲皮素和连翘苷，研究了各种条件的影响，得到了优化的实验条件，在20mmol/L的Na2B4O7(H3B03调节至pH8．40)-30mmol/L十二烷基硫酸钠-10％乙腈(1 9)的缓冲溶液中，分离电压为12kV时，芦丁、槲皮素和连翘苷在10min内得到了良好的分离，检测波长为254nm，芦丁、槲皮素和连翘苷分别在0．01-1．0mg/mL，0．01-1．0mg／mL和0．05-1．0mg/mL质量浓度范围内与电泳峰高呈现良好线性关系，检测下限分别为0．005mg/mL，0．005mg/mL和0．01mg／mL，应用于实际样品的测定。