Determination of saikosaponin derivatives in Bupleuri Radix using HPLC-ELSD

A HPLC-ELSD method was developed to determine saikosaponin derivatives from Bupleuri Radix. Eight saikosaponins, saikosaponin c, i, h, a, , g, and d, were analyzed under optimized HPLC conditions [column: Eclipse XDB ( i.d., ; mobile phase: with 0.1% COOH (v/v) for solvent A and AcCN with 0.1% COOH (v/v) for solvent B, gradient elution; flow rate: 1mL/min; injection volume: ]. Good linearity was achieved in the range from 62.5 to for each compound, and intra-day precision and accuracy at each concentration level varied between 0.05 and 5.45% and between 93.9 and 109.6%, respectively, whereas those for inter-day variations were between 0.91 to 2.73% and 94.3 to 106.1%. This HPLC-ELSD method was applied for the determination of sakosaponins from Bupleuri Radix samples, and saikosaponin a , c and d were observed as major compounds. The other saikosaponins were shown under limit of quantification level thus couldn't be quantified. The present study suggested that the introduced HPLC-ELSD method is selective and reliable, and not only saikosaponin a, but also saikosaponin c and d should be employed as the standard markers for Bupleuri Radix.