A high performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of arctiin, chlorogenic acid and glycyrrhizin in a Chinese proprietary medicine.

A high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed for the simultaneous determination of arctiin, chlorogenic acid and glycyrrhizin in the tablets of a Chinese proprietary medicine named, "Yin Qiao Jie Du Pian". The analysis was performed by a reverse phase gradient elution, using an aqueous mobile phase (containing 0.4% acetic acid and 4.5% tetrahydrofuran) modified by acetonitrile and detection made simultaneously at three wavelengths. The method was validated for specificity, accuracy, precision and limits of detection and quantification. Tablets of seven commercial brands were analyzed and found to contain different amounts of the three bioactive markers. This raised the question of the quality and the efficacy of the products. The method developed can be used for the quality control of "Yin Qiao Jie Du" tablets.