Objective: To establish the qualitative and quantitative methods of Herba Siegesbeckiae.
Method: A TLC method was used for qualitative identification and a HPLC analysis was applied for quantitative determination of Herba Siegesbeckiae with kirenol as the reference substances.
Result: Chloroform-methanol-formic acid (25:5:1) as a mobile phase of TLC, the spot of kirenol can be easily detected; Methanol extracts of Herba Siegebeckiae were separated on a Polaris C18 column with acetonitrile-water (25:75) as mobile phase and kirenol was separated well. The average content of kirenol in Herba Siegebeckiae was 0.14%. A good linear relationship between the peak areas and injected amounts of kirenol in the range of 0.19-14.9 microg and the average recovery was 100.0% (RSD = 2.4%).
Conclusion: The method can be used for qualitative identification and quantitation determination of Herba Siegesbeckiae.