[HPLC-UV fingerprints and chemical pattern recognition of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix]

The present study is to establish the fingerprints for the quality evaluation of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix by HPLC-UV. The chromatographic conditions were defined as Phenomenex Luna C₁₈(4.6 mm × 250 mm, 5 μm). Mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.05% phosphoric acid in gradient elution, and the flow rate was 0.8 mL·min⁻¹.Column temperature was 30 °C and the injection volume was 10 μL．The detection wavelength was 210 nm. According to the similarity evaluation, the chemometric method was used to assess the quality of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix. The fingerprints of 16 batches of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix were established. There were 29 common peaks in the fingerprints and 12 common peaks were identified by reference substances. Fingerprints similarity of samples were greater than 0.92. The samples were classified into three groups by hierarchical cluster analysis combined with principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and seven components were the main markers that cause differences in the different batches of samples. By comparing the on-line UV spectra of chromatographic peaks, the chromatographic fingerprint was divided into three regions: region A showed seventeen main peaks (mainly lignans and phenolic acids); region B showed eight main peaks, which were proved as saponins; region C showed four main peaks, which were proved as other components. The established HPLC-UV fingerprint is highly specific, and can be used to evaluate the quality consistency of different batches of Ilicis Pubescentis Radix.