Abstract
A simple and reliable HPLC method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of four major constituents in Semen Vaccariae. The chromatographic separation was performed on an Agilent Zorbax SB-C18 column with gradient elution using methanol and water. The calibration curves showed good linearity of R2 > 0.9999 with LOQs (S/N = 10) of 0.20–1.16 μg/mL. The precision was evaluated by intra- and inter-day assays and R.S.D. values were less than 2.09%. The recovery rates were between 97.0% and 105.0%. The developed method was applied to the quantitative analysis of Semen Vaccariae and its stir-fried products. During the stir-frying process, vaccarin degraded and yielded isovitexin-2″-O-arabinoside. The preferable stir-frying temperature is around 120°C. The developed HPLC method can be applied to the quality control of crude and stir-fried Semen Vaccariae.