Determination of fructooligosaccharides in burdock using HPLC and microwave-assisted extraction

The root of burdock ( Arctium lappa L.) is a commonly used vegetable in Asia. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are usually considered as its main bioactive components. Thus, quantitative analysis of these components is very important for the quality control of burdock. In this study, an HPLC-ELSD and microwave-assisted extraction method was developed for the simultaneous determination of seven FOS with degrees of polymerization (DP) between 3 and 9, as well as fructose, glucose, and sucrose in burdock from different regions. The separation was performed on a Waters XBridge Amide column (4.6 × 250 mm i.d., 3.5 μm) with gradient elution. All calibration curves for investigated analytes showed good linear regression (r > 0.9990). Their LODs and LOQs were lower than 3.63 and 24.82 μg/mL, respectively. The recoveries ranged from 99.2 to 102.6%. The developed method was successfully applied to determination of ten sugars in burdock from different locations of Asia. The results showed that the contents of FOS in different samples of burdock collected at appropriate times were similar, and the developed HPLC-ELSD with microwave-assisted extraction method is helpful to control the quality of burdock.