Phytochemical Study of the Rhizome of Pinellia ternata and Quantification of Phenylpropanoids in Commercial Pinellia Tuber by RP-LC

Four phenylpropanoids, (E)-p-coumaryl alcohol (1), 3,4-dihydroxycinnamyl alcohol (2), sachaliside 1 (3), and coniferin (4) have been isolated from the rhizome of Pinellia ternata. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1–3 were isolated from the genus Pinellia for the first time. Compound 4 was isolated from this plant for the first time. A rapid, sensitive, and accurate reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method with UV detection at 260 nm was established for simultaneous separation and determination of the four phenylpropanoids in nineteen batches of dried rhizomes of P. ternata. Compounds were separated on a 250 × 4.6 mm C18 column with methanol–acetonitrile–water–phosphoric acid, 20:5:75:0.3, as mobile phase. The amounts of 1–4 in the rhizome of P. ternata could be easily determined within 30 min. The linear calibration ranges for 1–4 were 0.05–137.50, 0.66–1050.00, 0.06–30.00, and 0.05–67.50 μg mL−1, respectively. Recovery of 1–4 was 97.43–103.73%, with RSD from 0.12 to 1.62%. Limits of quantification for 1–4 were 50, 660, 60, and 50 ng mL−1, respectively. The method was successfully used for phytochemical analysis of phenylpropanoids from the rhizome of P. ternata.