Analysis of Fuzhisan and quantitation of baicalin and ginsenoside Rb1 by HPLC-DAD-ELSD

Fuzhisan (FZS) is a traditional Chinese medicine composed of Radix Ginseng Rubra (Araliaceae family), Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Labiatae family), Angelica sinensis (Oliv) Diels (Umbelliferae family), Anemone altaica Fisch. Ex C.A. Mey (Araceae family) and Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Leguminosae family). To establish the chemical fingerprint of the components of FZS and quantify the components, baicalin and ginsenoside Rb-1, a high performance liquid chromatography method coupled with diode array and evaporative light scattering detectors (DAD-ELSD) was developed. Separation of 36 components from 12 batches of FZS was performed on a C-18 column, with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.1% acetic acid-water, with gradient elution at a column temperature of 30A degrees C. The optimum detection wavelength was set at 335 nm, the drift tube temperature of ELSD was set at 80A degrees C, the carrier gas pressure was 25 psi, and the gain = 10. The similarity among 12 batches of FZS was over 0.95. Five constituents of FZS, namely baicalin, ferulic acid, and ginsenosides Rg(1), Re, and Rb-1, were identified based on their retention times (RT). Calibration curves for baicalin and ginsenoside Rb1 showed good linearity (r (2) > 0.9992); recoveries ranged from 95% to 99%. This quantification method is reproducible and simple, and may provide a tool to assess the quality of FZS.