Objective: To establish the HPLC method of determining the contents of tripterine in Tripterygii preparations purchased from drugstores.
Method: An external standard method by HPLC with Hanbon Kromasil C18 column as fixed phase and methanol-1% HAc (83:17) as mobile phase was adopted. The detection wavelength was 425 nm and the flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1).
Result: The contents of tripterine in TWH F. tablets were between 89.04 and 344.0 microg/tablet, and is higher than those in TWH F. polyglycosidium (14.98-217.80 microg/tablet) and Kunmingshanhaitang tablets (22.32 microg/tablet).
Conclusion: The contents of tripterine, in different Tripterygium preparations vary significantly, and in Tripterygium preparations from different manufacturers and different production lots are being remarkable discrepancy. So it is necessary to enhance quality monitoring and to establish the rational quality control standard for Tripterygii preparations.