Simultaneous Determination of Furostanol, Pennogenyl, and Diosgenyl Glycosides in Taiwanese Rhizoma Paridis (Paris formosana Hayata) by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Evaporative Light Scattering Detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method with an evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) was developed to simultaneously determine 10 steroidal saponins, including 3 furostanol glycosides, 3 pennogenyl glycosides, and 4 diosgenyl glycosides in Taiwanese rhizoma paridis (Paris formosana Hayata). The condition was a Cosmosil C18 column kept at 35 degrees C and a step-gradient solvent system consisting of acetonitrile and water (25:75, v/v) in the first 30 min, 45:55 (v/v) from 31 to 45 min, and 50:50 (v/v) from 45 to 65 min, at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The separation factors (alpha) and resolutions (Rs) were better than 1, and the limits of detection (LODs) and limits of quantification (LOQs) were 0.01-0.27 and 0.04-0.90 mu g, respectively, for these saponins. Moreover, 203 nm UV detection was also used for comparison. The saponins in P. formosana Hayata gathered from various areas of Taiwan were determined by applying the established method.