Gardenia herbal active constituents: applicable separation procedures

Gardenia herb has been used as alternative drug for thousand years. They may provide therapeutic or cause toxic effect. Recently, large scale of biological screen, phytochemical separation, isolation, and identification were widely performed. Quality control of the active ingredients should be concern for the application of Gardenia herbs. Many systems have been developed for the determination of herbal ingredients. This article reviews some of the plants and their active constituents that have been used for medicinal applications. The sample preparation, separation, and determination of Gardenia herbal ingredients were discussed. Based on the separation, the method of gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, and capillary electrophoresis were also discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.