Fingerprint Analysis of Flos carthami and Safflower Yellow Pigments by High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

Fingerprint analysis of Flos carthami and safflower yellow pigments were studied by high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A standardized procedure, including preparing and analyzing samples, was first established by a set of experiments. Then the characteristic HPLC fingerprints of both were established by treating 10 batches of genuine Flos carthami from Nanjiang, Xinjiang, China, with the standardized procedure. In succession, the fingerprint of Flos carthami was used to identify the raw herbs from different sources in China. The fingerprints of Flos carthami and safflower yellow pigments showed the best correlation by comparing the relative retention time of the peaks and the ratio of peak area of safflower yellow A to the total area. Both of the fingerprints were verified and validated by different HPLC systems.