Simultaneous determination of eleven major components in Fugan Fang using high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry

Abstract

Fugan fang (FGF) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription that has been used in treating hepatic illnesses for many years. In this study, an analytical method is developed for the quantitative analysis of the major components of FGF. This method is based on high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) on a reverse-phase C 18 column. Results show that 0.01% acetic acid and acetonitrile is the optimum mobile phase in gradient elution. All compounds showed good linearity (r 2 ≥ 0.9948). Recoveries measured at three concentration levels varied from 83.5 to 104.8%. The method was validated with respect to precision, repeatability and accuracy and was successfully applied in the quantification of the 11 components of FGF products. The validated HPLC-MS method provides a basis for assessing the quality of TCM prescriptions containing many bioactive components.

Identification and pharmacokinetics of the major constituents of Fugan Fang in rat plasma

“…The powdered FGF was prepared according to the traditional method, as described in a previous study. 10 Briey, a blended mixture of the 5 constituent herbs of FGF was immersed in deionised water for 30 min and boiled twice for 1 h with 10-fold mass and 8-fold mass of water, respectively. Aer ltration, the 2 decoctions were mixed and evaporated to dryness to obtain powdered FGF.…”

“…Aer ltration, the 2 decoctions were mixed and evaporated to dryness to obtain powdered FGF. Using LC-MS, 10 the amounts of hydroxysafflor yellow A, gentiopicroside, sweroside, calycosin-7-O-b-D-glucoside, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, ononin, calycosin, astragaloside IV, formononetin, and astragaloside I in the extract were determined to be 0.04, 9.73, 0.21, 0.17, 0.12, 0.01, 0.08, 0.05, 0.02, 0.04, and 0.44 mg g À1 , respectively.…”