Quantitative determination of eleutheroside B and E from Acanthopanax species by high performance liquid chromatography.

Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was applied for the determination of eleutheroside B and E in the various Acanthopanax species collected in Korea. The stationary phase used was Zorbax 300 SB C18 and a mobile phase program was used, which started at 6% acetonitrile for 2 min, and then a linear gradient was operated for the next 18 min to 17% acetonitrile at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. The column effluent was monitored at UV 210 nm. Identification was carried out by comparing the retention time and the LC/MS spectrum of each peak corresponding to eleutheroside B and E from sample with those of standards. In general, the contents of eleutheroside B and E in stems were higher than those in roots. Acanthopanax species could be classified into two groups based upon the contents of eleutheroside B and E: one group contains no or very little eleutheroside B and another contains both eleutheroside B and E.