High-performance liquid chromatography separation of cis-trans anthocyanin isomers from wild Lycium ruthenicum Murr. employing a mixed-mode reversed-phase/strong anion-exchange stationary phase.

The cis-trans isomerism is a common phenomenon for acylated anthocyanins. Nevertheless, few studies reported effective methods for the preparation of isomeric anthocyanins from natural products. In this work, a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to efficiently purify anthocyanin isomers from Lycium ruthenicum Murr. based on a mixed-mode reversed-phase/strong anion-exchange column (named XCharge C8SAX). Four commercially available columns were evaluated with a pair of isomeric anthocyanins, and the results demonstrated that the XCharge C8SAX column exhibited improved selectivity and column efficiency for the isomers. The chromatographic parameters, including pH, organic content, and ionic strength, were investigated. Optimal separation quality for the anthocyanin isomers was achieved on the XCharge C8SAX column. Six pure anthocyanins, including two pairs of cis-trans isomeric anthocyanins with one new anthocyanin, were purified from L. ruthenicum and identified. All of the results indicated that this method is an effective way to separate anthocyanins, especially for cis-trans isomers.