Validated High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Method for the Determination of Dibenzyl Cyclooctadiene Lignans from Schisandra grandiflora

A simple, accurate, and rapid high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method has been established and validated for the simultaneous quantification of the four biologically active dibenzyl cyclooctadiene lignans, i.e., schisandrin (1), gomisin B (2), deoxyschisandrin (3), and gomisin N (4) from the hexane extract of Schisandra grandiflora (Wall.) Hook. f. & Thoms. Separation was performed on silica gel 60 F-254 plates using a saturated mixture of toluene-ethyl acetate-methanol (6:1:1 v/v) as the mobile phase. Quantitation was performed using densitometric absorption-reflection mode at 225 nm. The method was validated for its selectivity, linearity, precision, and accuracy. HPTLC was hyphenated with a mass spectrometer as an additional tool for the confirmation of the markers using an interface. The developed method is simple and convenient which can be applied for the regular quality analysis of the raw plant material used in Chinese traditional herbal formulations.