Determination of saikosaponins a, c, and d in Bupleurum Chinese DC from different areas by capillary zone electrophoresis.

A fast capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) method was developed for the determination and separation of saikosaponins a, c, and d in Chinese herbal extracts of Bupleurum Chinese DC from different areas. Detection at 214 nm with a system containing sodium borate buffer and mono-3-phenylcarbamoyl-beta-CD was found to be the most suitable approach for this analysis. Saikosaponins a, c, and d could be easily determined within 8 min. The effect of the concentration of mono-3-phenylcarbamoyl-beta-CD, the concentration of the running buffer and buffer pH value on the migration behavior of the saikosaponins is discussed.