HPLC Fingerprint and Content Determination of Five Components in Ranunculus Sceleratus L.

OBJECTIVE  To establish the HPLC fingerprint and content determination of five components in Ranunculus sceleratus L..

METHODS  The separation was developed on an Agilent ZORBAX SB C₁₈ chromatographic (4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm)column by gradient elution with methanol(A)-0.1 % phosphoric acid aqueous solution(B) as mobile phase to establish HPLC fingerprint of Ranunculus sceleratus L.. Combined with similarity evaluation, cluster analysis, principal component analysis, and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis, the quality of 13 batches of Ranunculus sceleratus L. was evaluated.

RESULTS  Thirteen batches of Ranunculus sceleratus L. samples were calibrated with 20 common peaks, of which 5 common peaks were identified, and the similarity ranged from 0.874 to 0.984. The results of cluster analysis and principal component analysis were basically the same, indicating that there might be differences in the content of chemical components of Ranunculus sceleratus L. in different regions. Protocatechuic aldehyde, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, hyperoside and isoquercitrin were determined in thirteen batches of Ranunculus sceleratus L., and their contents were 0.016−0.035, 0.010−0.070, 0.010−0.029, 0.016−0.051, 0.028−0.086 mg·g^–1, respectively.

CONCLUSION  The established HPLC fingerprint and content determination method is simple, stable, and reliable, which can be used for qualitative analysis and provide reference to quality evaluation and resource utilization of Ranunculus sceleratus L..