Abstract
Objective: To develop an accurate and rapid ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled with a photodiode array (PDA) method for the simultaneous determination of artemisinin (Art), arteannuin B (Art B), arteannuin C (Art C), dihydroartemisinic acid (DHAA) and artemisinic acid (AA) in Artemisia annua L. Methodology: Chromatography separation was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 Column with isocratic elution; the mobile phase was 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (A) and acetonitrile (B) (A:B = 40:60, v/v). Data were recorded at an ultraviolet (UV) wavelength of 191 nm for Art, Art C, DHAA and AA, and 206 nm for Art B. Results: The calibration curves of the five sesquiterpene components were all linear with correlation coefficients more than 0.9990. The linear ranges were 31.44–1572 μg/mL, 25.48–1274 μg/mL, 40.56–2028 μg/mL, 31.44–1572 μg/mL and 26.88–1396 μg/mL for Art, Art B, Art C, DHAA and AA, respectively. The precision ranged from 0.08% to 2.88%, the stability was from 0.96% to 1.66%, and the repeatability was all within 2.42% and had a mean extraction recovery of 96.5% to 100.6%. Conclusion: The established UPLC–PDA method would be valuable for improving the quantitative analysis of sesquiterpene components in Artemisia annua L.
Highlights
Qinghao, the dry aerial part of the annual Compositae Artemisia annua L. (A. annua), is widely used as a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
The major biological effects attributed to the constituents of A. annua include treating heat, malaria [1] and autoimmune diseases [2]
The extraction method, extraction solvent, ratio of material to liquid, and extraction times were taken as the influencing factors, and the total content of Art, arteannuin B (Art B), arteannuin C (Art C), dihydroartemisinic acid (DHAA) and artemisinic acid (AA) was taken as the evaluation indicators
Summary
The dry aerial part of the annual Compositae Artemisia annua L. (A. annua), is widely used as a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Art, named Qinghaosu in Chinese, is a sesquiterpene lactone compound showing strong anti-malarial effect, extracted from A. annua [4], which contains a natural peroxyl bridge in its chemical structure. It is recognized as one of several natural and effective sesquiterpene compounds with anti-malarial activity [5]. Seasons, climates and geographical environments have caused the balance of ingredients in the medicinal materials to be altered. This has affected inherent mutual transformations, and led to observable pharmacological effects.
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