Chemical Fingerprinting by HPLC-DAD-ELSD and Principal Component Analysis of Polygala japonica from Different Locations in China

AimTo establish a high performance liquid chromatographic fingerprint for the quality control of Polygala japonica, a raw material of traditonal Chinese medicine (TCM).MethodsThe fingerprint was established using HPLC-DAD-ELSD techniques. Chromatographic fingerprint analysis was carried out on a Discovery C18 analytical column. The mobile phase consisting acetonitrile-methanol-0.05% trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in gradient program. DAD acquisition wavelength range was set from 200 to 400 nm and the chromatographic display wavelength was set at 350 nm. The evaporator tube temperature of ELSD was set at 105 °C, and with the nebulizing gas flow-rate of 2.6 L·min−1.ResultsIn the DAD chromatogram most peaks showed the characteristic spectra of flavonol derivatives (260 nm, 350 nm), and in the ELSD chromatogram most peaks were identified as triterpenoid saponins by comparsion with that of reference standards. The complementary information between the DAD and ELSD fingerprints was evaluated and the PCA of the fingerprint data led to an accurate classification of various samples from different locations.ConclusionIt was demonstrated that the HPLC-DAD-ELSD fingerprint was a powerful tool to characterize the quality of traditional Chinese medicines.