[UPLC characteristic fingerprint of leaves of Moringa oleifera]

This study aims to establish the characteristic fingerprint of the leaves of Moringa oleifera by Ultra High Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) for its quality control. The method was developed on a column of Agilent Eclipse XDB-C₁₈ with acetonitrile-0.01% TFA solution as the mobile phase by gradient elution at a flow rate of 0.5 mL·min⁻¹. The detective wavelength was 210 nm, and the column temperature was 35 °C. The 14 batches of the leaves of M. oleifera were compared for the similarity by using Traditional Chinese Medicine Chromatographic Fingerprint Similarity Evaluation System (2004A). The UPLC characteristic fingerprint was established, and twelve common peaks were identified by comparison with the references and UPLC-MS. The relative retention times were 0.08 (No. 1, adenosine), 0.14 (No. 2, L-phenylalanine), 0.22 (No. 3, 5-caffeoylquinic acid), 0.28 (No. 4, L-tryptophane), 0.42 (No. 5, 4-caffeoylquinic acid), 0.65 (No. 6, vicenin-2), 0.94 (No. 7, vitexin), 0.96 (No. 8, isovitexin), 1.00 (No. 9, isoquercitrin), 1.11 [No. 10, quercetin 3-O-β-D-(6"-malonyl)-glucopyranoside], 1.21 (No. 11, astragalin) and 1.37 [No. 12, kaempferol 3-O-β-D-(6"-malonyl)-glucopyranoside]. It is the first time to establish the UPLC characteristic fingerprint of the leaves of M. oleifera. The method is simple, quick and reproducible with high precision, which can provide a scientific basis for the quality control of the leaves of M. oleifera.