[Determination of berberine in Angong Niuhuang Wan by HPLC]

A normal phase liquid chromatographic method was developed for the determination of berberine-type alkaloids in rhizoma Coptidis and traditional Chinese medicine--Angong Niuhuang Wan. Experimental evidences indicate that a normal phase system of a silica column (3.9 x 250 mm) as stationary phase with an eluent of ethyl acetate-formic acid-ethanol (15:3:2) as mobile phase can separate excellently (R5 greater than 1.5) four berberine-type alkaloids in the samples tested. According to the results obtained with this method the percent content of berberine hydrochloride in some Angong Niuhuang Wan from different factories and different batches was 0.331-0.456% and the average recovery was 97.23%; coefficient of variation was 1.2%.