Specification and Analysis of Multiple Marker Compounds for Quality Control of Mori Cortex Radicis by HPLC

Abstract

Mori Cortex Radicis (MCR), the dried root bark of Morus alba L., is a well‐known traditional herbal medicine. While several studies have examined the components and bioactivities of MCR, this study describes the development of a method for the simultaneous quantitative evaluation of two marker compounds for quality control and classification of MCR samples. Two marker compounds of MCR, kuwanon G and morusin, were separated and quantified using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on an Optimapak C18 column (4.6 × 250 mm, 5 µm). The compounds were eluted with a mobile phase of water and methanol under gradient conditions (0 min at 15% B, 5 min at 70% B, 30 min at 100% B) at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min and a detection wavelength of 270 nm. The method was validated with respect to linearity, accuracy, precision, and recovery. The results satisfied the guidelines set by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), Korea. The validated method was applied to the quantification of the two marker compounds in 81 samples (65 MCRs, 16 similar crude drugs) collected from various regions of Korea and China. Using a linear regression method, content criteria were established in accordance with the quantitative results obtained with the two marker compounds of MCR. Therefore, the developed HPLC method is suitable for quality control and classification of MCR samples according to harvesting country.