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Untargeted Metabolomics from Biological Sources Using Ultraperformance Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-HRMS)
Published on: May 20, 2013
Simple quality assessment approach for herbal extracts using high performance liquid chromatography-UV based
Ke Lan1, Yan Zhang, Junyi Yang
1Key Laboratory of Drug Targeting and Drug Delivery Systems, Ministry of Education, No 17, Section 3, Renminnan Road, West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan, China. lanwoco@scu.edu.cn
This study introduces a reliable method using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-UV) and statistical analysis to assess the quality of total flavones of sea buckthorn (TFS). The findings differentiate TFS batches and identify key compounds influencing quality.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacognosy
- Analytical Chemistry
- Phytochemistry
Background:
- Studying herbal medicines is hindered by a lack of standardized research methodologies.
- Assessing the quality of complex herbal extracts like total flavones of sea buckthorn (TFS) requires robust analytical techniques.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a reliable method for quality reassessment of total flavones of sea buckthorn (TFS).
- To differentiate between various batches of TFS using analytical and statistical approaches.
Main Methods:
- Utilized common High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with an Ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV) and multivariate statistical analysis.
- Developed and validated two complementary HPLC-UV methods, combined for comprehensive ingredient determination.
- Applied Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) for data analysis.
Main Results:
- Six batches of TFS were successfully differentiated using PCA and PLS-DA.
- Key compounds, including quercetin, kaempferol, isorhamnetin, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, and three unknown compounds, were identified as significant contributors to quality variations.
- A Partial Least Square (PLS) regression model demonstrated a strong correlation between the proposed method and the total flavone content, the current quality control standard.
Conclusions:
- The proposed HPLC-UV and multivariate statistical analysis method is reliable for the quality reassessment of herbal extracts.
- This approach offers a viable alternative to more complex chromatographic techniques for herbal medicine quality control.
