Acanthopanax species are used in traditional medicine to treat numerous diseases. A simultaneous high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed and validated for the determination of the flavonoid and phenolic content of Acanthopanax leaves. HPLC analysis was performed on an AKZO NOBEL Kromasil 100-5C18 column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) using a gradient elution of acetonitrile-water containing 0.2% formic acid with a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, monitored at 320 nm. The method was linear over the range 1-500 µg/mL (determination coefficients R(2) > 0.999). Satisfactory intraday and interday precision was achieved, with the relative standard deviation (RSD) <2.99%. The mean recoveries measured at the three concentrations were in the range of 90.11-104.83%, with RSD <2.91% for the targets. Twenty-four samples of Acanthopanax leaves from different species and locations were examined using this analytical method, and their chemical profiles provided information for the chemotaxonomic investigation. The established method is simple, rapid and reliable for the quality control of Acanthopanax leaves of various species from different collections. The complete phenolic and flavonoid profiles of Acanthopanax leaves of various species have been established.
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