Quality Assessment of Corydalis saxicola Bunting Using Quantitative Analysis of Multi-Components by Single Marker and Fingerprint Analysis

Yan Huanglian is the whole grass and rhizome of Corydalis saxicola Bunting (CSB) of the Papaveraceae family. CSB has various pharmacological effects and is a promising ethnopharmaceutical. The chromatographic fingerprint of 16 batches of CSB samples was established in this study. Quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker and the external standard method (ESM) was used to quantitatively assess seven constituents of CSB. Because of its high stability and availability, dehydrocavidine was used as a reference to determine the relative correction factors (RCFs) of columbamine, epiberberine, coptisine hydrochloride, palmatine chloride, berberine hydrochloride, and chelerythrine based on high-performance liquid chromatography. The calculated quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker values is consistent with those obtained from the ESM, and the repeatability of the RCFs was demonstrated. For the first time, the quantitative analysis of multi-components by the single marker method has been established for the simultaneous determination of seven components, and it is demonstrated to be feasible and accurate for the quality evaluation of CSB combined with chromatographic fingerprint analysis. The combination of these methods could be used as a reference for quality control in Chinese medicine.