Development of a Quality Control Method for Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus with Micellar Electrokinetic Capillary Chromatography

The ripened fruits of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., called Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, are commonly used in traditional herbal medicine with a long history. The lignan constituents, especially the dibenzocyclooctadiene-type lignans, are mostly responsible for the biological and pharmacological effects of this herbal medicine. In this paper, a new micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) method to analyze the active components of lignans is reported. The separating conditions for analysis of the lignans were optimized using a buffer solution consisting of 70 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), 35% acetonitrile (v/v), and 100 mM Tris (pH 9.50). The applied voltage was 27 kV (positive polarity), and the capillary temperature was 25C. Among the common peaks in the HPCE fingerprint, six peaks were identified as schizandrin, schizandrol B, schisantherin, deoxyschisandrin, γ-schisandrin and schizandrin C. Based on HPCE fingerprint and content determination, the quality of fifteen samples from different areas of China was objectively assessed. In summary, a new HPCE-based method was developed for the quality control of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, which could be very helpful for the proper use of Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus.