Chemical fingerprinting of Actaea racemosa (black cohosh) and its comparison study with closely related Actaea species (A. pachypoda, A. podocarpa, A. rubra) by HPLC

Black cohosh (Actaea recemosa) is a popular botanical used for women's health. The rhizomes/roots used in black cohosh products are often collected from the wild; a correct identification is therefore crucial. An HPLC-ELSD method has been developed for the analysis of terpenoids in different Actaea species samples. The best results were obtained with a Phenomenex Discovery column using gradient mobile phase of water (0.1% acetic acid), acetonitrile (0.1% acetic acid) and reagent alcohol. Owing to their low UV absorption, the triterpene saponins were detected by evaporative light scattering. Elution was run at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min(-1). This paper discusses the use of the chemical fingerprinting technique as a means of identifying A. recemosa from three closely related species, A. pachypoda, A. podocarpa and A. rubra, respectively. This method suggests that the analytical method could be a useful method for quality control and identifying species.