• Analytical Science and Technology
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.504-510
• /
• 2000

The impurity profiles from the raw materials of glycyrrhizin were performed by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)/electrospray ionization (ESI)- mass spectrometry (MS). For the HPLC experiment, a $C_{18}$($3.9{\times}300mm$, $10{\mu}m$) column was used and the mobile phase was acetic acid/$H_2O$ (1:10):acetonitrile=3:2 with a flow rate of 0.8 ml/min. The effluent was splitted into the ratio of 50:1 and went into the ESI-MS. Three to six impurities were found and informed of the identification of the structure of the impurities by ESI-MS. And the structures of impurities were suggested to a hydroxy-glycyrrhizin which is added with hydroxy group (-OH) in the glycyrrhetic acid moiety and a reduced-glycyrrhizin which the position of 12 of the glycyrrhetic acid moiety is reduced. The purities of the standard materials were about 90%.