Fast Determination of Paeonol from Cortex moutan by Microwave-Assisted Steam Extraction Followed by HPLC

In this work, microwave-assisted steam extraction (MASE) followed by high performance liquid chromatography is described for the extraction and determination of paeonol in Cortex moutan. This new approach was based on the combination of microwave-assisted extraction and steam distillation. No organic solvent was used and no clean-up step was required before chromatographic analysis. The extraction vessel and water were both under microwave radiation: the water was still heated while the generated steam flowed through the sample. Factors such as collection volume, microwave power, mass of the sample, and mixed proportion of the sample and quartz sand were investigated. The intra- and inter-day relative standard deviation values of < 9 % show that the proposed method had good repeatability. To demonstrate its feasibility, the MASE was compared with other extraction methods such as dynamic microwave-assisted extraction, ultrasonic extraction, and steam distillation, and the experimental results show that the MASE was a rapid, effective, and environmentally friendly alternative for the extraction of paeonol in Cortex moutan. Finally, the proposed method was applied on Cortex moutan samples from different producing areas and the results were satisfactory.