Simultaneous determination of five main active constituents of Erigeron multiradiatus by HPLC-DAD-MS

An HPLC-DAD-MS method was developed for simultaneous determination of the five major active constituents in Erigeron multiradiatus (Wall.) Benth, namely 6'-O-cafferylerigeroside (1), scutellarin (2), apigenin-7-O-beta-d-glucuronide (3), apigenin (4) and kaempferol (5), respectively. They were identified by ESI-MS and comparisons with literature. A comprehensive validation of the method included tests of sensitivity, linearity, precision and accuracy. The linear regressions were acquired with r>0.999. The precision was evaluated by intra- and inter-day assays, and relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) values were reported within 2.7%. The recovery studies for the quantified compounds were observed in the range of 95.3-102.4% with R.S.D. values less than 2.3%. The overall procedure may be suitable for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of a large number of E. multiradiatus samples. Hierarchical clustering analysis based on the characteristics of the 5 investigated compound peaks in HPLC profiles showed that 18 samples were divided into 2 main clusters. The clusters corresponded to their content. The five constituents in E. multiradiatus are generally regarded as an index for the quality assessment of this herb.