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, $b_2$, g, $b_1$ and d, were analyzed under optimized HPLC conditions [column: Eclipse XDB $C_{18}$ ($150{\times}4.6mm$ i.d., $5{\mu}m$; mobile phase: $H_2O$ with 0.1% $CH_3$COOH (v/v) for solvent A and AcCN with 0.1% $CH_3$COOH (v/v) for solvent B, gradient elution; flow rate: 1mL/min; injection volume: $20{\mu}L$]. Good linearity was achieved in the range from 62.5 to $250{\mu}g/mL$ 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 $(0.79{\pm}0.20mg/g)$, c $(0.33{\pm}0.06mg/g)$ and d $(0.48{\pm}0.15mg/g)$ 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.

HPLC-ELSD를 이용한 시호 중의 saikosaponin 유도체의 확인법 개발