Simultaneous Determination Of Five Triterpenic Acids In Four Corydalis Herb Medicines By Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Fluorescence-Mass Spectrometer (Rp-Hplc-Fld-Ms) Based On Pre-Column Derivatization

A rapid and sensitive reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography- fluorescence-mass spectrometer (RP-HPLC-FLD-MS) method based on pre-column derivatization using 2-(5-benzoacridine)ethyl-p-toluenesulfonate (BAETS) as labelling reagent has been developed for simultaneous determination of five triterpenic acids (asiatic acid (AA), maslinic acid (MA), corosolic acid (CA), oleanolic acid (OA), and betulinic acid (BA). The presented method was validated for linearity (correlation coefficient R-2>0.9994), precision (RSD 2.1%-3.9%) and reproducibility (RSD 0.01%-2.1%). The limits of detection (LODs) and the limits of quantitation LOQs were within the range of 0.71-1.02 ng mL(-1) and 2.28-3.24 ng mL(-1), respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied to simultaneously determine five triterpenic acids of four Corydalis plants and showed satisfactory reproducibility and credibility. Moreover, several main parameters affecting extraction procedure and derivatization efficiency were investigated by response surface methodology (RSM), respectively. Triterpenic acid content in four Corydalis plants was measured according to the established method and the results indicated that triterpenic acid contents were various in different organs and herbs.