Quality control of Pulsatilla koreana based on the simultaneous determination of triterpenoidal saponins by HPLC-ELSD and principal component analysis

Introduction: Pulsatilla koreana Nakai, with triterpenoidal saponins as its main pharmacological effective compounds, is known to have several biological activities, including hypoglycaemic, antitumour, cognition-enhancing, neuroprotective, cytotoxic and antiangiogenic activities. However, few analytical methods have been reported on the quality assessment of P. koreana roots.

Objective: To establish a high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative LIGHT scattering detection for the simultaneous determination of five triterpenoidal saponins, including pulsatilloside E (1), pulsatilla saponin H (2), anemoside B4 (3), hederacolchiside E (4) and cussosaponin C (5) in P. koreana.

Methodology: The chromatographic separation was performed on a Shiseido CapCell PAK C18 analytical column efficiently using gradient elution with acetonitrile and water.

Results: All calibration curves showed excellent linear regressions (R(2) > 0.9996) within the range of tested concentrations. The intra- and inter-day variations were below 4.78% in terms of RSD. The recoveries were 94.82-102.97% with RSD of 0.27-3.92% for spiked P. koreana samples.

Conclusion: The validated method was successfully used for the analysis of five saponins in P. koreana from different locations. Moreover, the different samples were clustered in accordance with contents of triterpenoidal saponins based on aglycon type by a principal component analysis.