Analytical Sciences

Rapid Determination of Two Triterpenoid Acids in Chaenomelis Fructus Using Supercritical Fluid Extraction On-line Coupled with Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

Xiaotian ZHANG,* Feng JI,** Yueqi LI,** Tian HE,* Ya HAN,* Daidong WANG,* Zongtao LIN,*** and Shizhong CHEN*

*School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100191, China
**Analytical Center, Department of Analytical Instruments, Shimadzu (China) Co., Beijing Branch, Beijing 100020, China
***Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA

In this study, an on-line supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) and supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) method was developed for the rapid determination of oleanoic acid and ursolic acid in Chaenomelis Fructus. After optimization of the conditions, the two triterpenoid acids was obtained by SFE using 20% methanol as a modifier at 35°C in 8 min. They were resolved on a Shim-pack UC-X Diol column (4.6 × 150 mm, 3 μm) in 14 min (0 – 10 min, 5 – 10%; 10 – 14 min, 10% methanol in CO₂) with a backpressure of 15 MPa at 40°C. The on-line SFE-SFC method could be completed within 40 min (10.79 mg/g dry plant, R_s = 2.36), while the ultrasound-assisted extraction and HPLC method required at least 90 min (3.55 mg/g dry plant, R_s = 1.92). This on-line SFE-SFC method is powerful to simplify the pre-processing and quantitative analysis of natural products.

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