Chromatographic chromatographic spectroscopic combination methods for the analysis of botanical drugs

Bioactive plant secondary metabolites tend to occur in complex mixtures in botanical drugs (phytopharmaceuticals), and the design of procedures for the analysis of such compounds requires a thorough understanding of the phytochemistry involved and considerable ingenuity on the part of the analyst. Several published chromatographic and chromatographic/spectroscopic analytical methods for three botanical products of commercial importance are reviewed, namely, those from Gingko biloba, Croton tiglium, and Stevia rebaudiana.