A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of 11 saponins in Panax notoginseng using ultra performance liquid chromatography

A rapid ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with photo diode array detection method (UPLC-PDA) was developed for the simultaneous determination of I I saponins, namely notoginsenoside R 1, ginsenoside Rg1, Re, Rf, Rb1, Rg2, Rc, Rb2, Rb3, Rd and Rg3 in Panax notoginseng. The analysis was performed on Acquity UPLC system with Acquity UPLC BEH C-18 column and gradient elution of water and acetonitrile in 12 min. The high correlation coefficient (r(2) > 0.9968) values indicated good correlations between the investigated compounds' concentrations and their peak areas within the test ranges. The LOQ and LOD were lower to 0.2-2.4 and 0.1-1.8 ng on column, respectively. The overall intra- and inter-day variations (R.S.D.) of I I saponins were lower than 3.1%. The developed method was successfully used for the analysis of saponins in P notoginseng with overall recovery of 93.0-101.6% for the analytes. The results show that UPLC is a powerful tool for analysis of components in Chinese medicines. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.