Simultaneous determination of six bioactive compounds in Evodiae Fructus by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection.

A simple and reliable high-performance liquid chromatography method with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of six bioactive components, rutaevine, limonin, evodiamine, rutaecarpine, N-formyldihydrorutaecarpine and dihydroevocarpine, in the traditional Chinese medicine Evodiae Fructus (Wuzhuyu in Chinese). HPLC separation was conducted on an Agilent Eclipse C18 column (4.6 x 150 mm, 5 mm) at 35 degrees C with a mixture of mobile phase A [tetrahydrofuran-0.02% phosphoric acid (16 : 35)] and mobile phase B (acetonitrile) (gradient elution as follows: 0 min, 22% B; 23 min, 22% B; 24 min, 75% B) at a flow rate of 1 mL/min, and the DAD detection wavelength was set at 220 nm. A linear relationship within the range of investigated concentrations was observed for the six compounds, with correlation coefficients greater than 0.999. The average recovery yields of the six compounds ranged from 98.39 to 104.96%. The HPLC-DAD method was validated by its repeatability [relative standard deviation (RSD) < 2.0%] and intra-day and inter-day precision (RSD < 2.0%). The method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of the six previously mentioned components in Evodiae Fructus. It is the first report of a simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis for three classes of bioactive components in Wuzhuyu, including the indolequinazoline alkaloids, quinolone alkaloid and limonoids. Based on these results, it is suggested, for possible future revision of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, that the total contents of evodiamine and rutaecarpine are not less than 0.15% and the total contents of rutaevine and limonin are not less than 0.50%.