[Study on RSLC fingerprint of Lycii cortex]

To develope a method of RSLC fingerprint analysis for the quality evaluation of Lycii Cortex, and assess the differences of Lycii Cortex from Lycium chinense and L. barbarum.

All separations were performed using a Rapid Separation Liquid Chromatography (RSLC) system with an Acquity UPLC C18 (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.7 microm) column. The mobile phase was consisted of acetonitrile and 0.1% aqueous acetic acid. The flow rate was 0.3 mL/min using gradient elution. The column temperature was 40 degrees C and detection wavelength was set at 315 nm. Lycii Cortex samples collected from different habitats were assessed by similarity analysis (SA), hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principle component analysis (PCA).

The characteristic RSLC fingerprint was established with 14 common peaks. 14 hatches of samples were classified as 2 clusters by HCA and PCA, and the result demonstrated that there were differences in the contents of chemical composition between 2 species of Lycii Cortex.

The established RSLC fingerprint is specific and the method is rapid, simple and reliable, which can be used to control the quality of Lycii Cortex in the markets.