Optimized separation of pharmacologically active xanthones from Securidaca inappendiculata by capillary electrophoresis

A capillary electrophoresis (CE) method with diode-array detection (DAD) has been developed for the separation of the therapeutically important xanthones from Securidaca inappendiculata for the first time, based on the systematic optimization of such parameters as pH, concentration of running buffers, addition of sulfated P-CD, applied voltage and column temperature. Baseline separation was achieved for the nine xanthones in less than 15 min using a background electrolyte consisting of 200 mM borate (pH 9.5) and 10 mm sulfated beta-CD. Apparent analyte - selector binding constants between sulfated beta-CD and xanthones were calculated to elucidate the migration order and the separation mechanism.