Simultaneous determination of five active hydrolysis ingredients from Panax quinquefolium L. by HPLC-ELSD

An effective method for simultaneous determination of five hydrolysis products of 20 (R)-dammarane-3β,6α,12β,20,25-pentol, 24(R)-ocotillol, 20(R)-protopanaxatriol, 20(S)-panaxatriol and 20(R)-dammarane-3β,12β,20,25-tetrol was developed using high-performance liquid chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-ELSD). The hydrolysis products from Panax quinquefolium L. in the stems and leaves, berries, flower buds and roots components were successfully separated on a Kromasil C(18) column using methanol and water (83:17, v/v) as mobile phase in 18 min. The parameter for the ELSD was set to a probe temperature of 40°C and the nebulizer for nitrogen gas was adjusted to 3 L/min. All calibration curves showed good linear regression (r > 0.9975) within test ranges. The validation of the method included recovery, linearity, accuracy and precision (intra- and inter-day variation). The accuracy and precision were satisfactory, with the overall intra- and inter-day variation being less than 3.11%, and recoveries of this method were greater than 95.0%. This study developed an effective and rapid method for simultaneous determination of multiple hydrolysis components from Panax quinquefolium L.