Simultaneous Determination of 12 Marker Components in Yeonkyopaedok-san Using HPLC-PDA and LC-MS/MS

Yeonkyopaedok-san is a traditional Korean medicine used in the early treatment of boils. In the present study, its 12 marker components for quality control were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with photodiode array detection and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The investigated 12 marker components of Yeonkyopaedok-san were as follows: 3-caffeoylquinic acid, cimifugin 7-glucoside, liquiritin apioside, ferulic acid, narirutin, 5-O-methylvisammioside, naringin, neohesperidin, oxypeucedanin hydrate, arctigenin, glycyrrhizic acid, and 6-gingerol. The analytical column used for the separation of the 12 marker analytes in Yeonkyopaedok-san was a Waters SunFire C18 column (4.6 mm x 250 mm, 5 mu m). The two mobile phases used were 0.1% (v/v) aqueous formic acid and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in acetonitrile. In the UPLC-MS/MS analysis, all components were separated using a Waters ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm x 100 mm, 1.7 mu m). The two mobile phases used were 0.1% (v/v) aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile. The coefficient of determination of the calibration curves in both analysis systems showed good linearity (>0.99). The amounts of the 12 marker components in Yeonkyopaedok-san determined using HPLC-photodiode array detection and UPLC-MS/MS analyses were found to be 0.14-9.00 mg/g and 2.35-853.11 mu g/g, respectively.