Rapid Determination of Total Flavonoids in a Medicinal Plant Epimedium by Near-infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy

Abstract

Epimedium is a famous medicinal plant in China. Total flavonoids in Epimedium exhibit a wide variety of bioactivities. We developed an analytical method based on near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy for determining total flavonoids in Epimedium and measured the content of total flavonoids in 7 Epimedium species. The best calibration model was under the following conditions: 2 nd derivative, principal components analysis, weighted multiplicative scatter correction and modified partial least squares regression. The coefficient of determination for calibration, standard error of cross-validation and coefficient of determination for cross-validation of prediction equation of calibration set were 0.985 5, 0.023 0 and 0.044 3, respectively. The coefficient of determination, standard error of performance and bias of prediction equation of validation set were 0.965 1, 0.018 and 0.006, respectively. These results confirmed the good predictability of the model. The analytical method can be efficiently used for rapid quantification of total flavonoids in Epimedium.