Simultaneous Determination of Glycyrrhizin and 15 Flavonoids in Licorice and Blood by High Performance Liquid Chromatography with Ultraviolet Detector

Abstract

Licorice is the most frequently used herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with versatile functions. It is also a popular natural dietary supplement. While the dosages is very important for there are some side effects caused by licorice. The composition of licorice, its products should be well determined thereof. A simple method for simultaneous determining sixteen compounds in vary high dynamic range of content has been established. This method based on the detection at the characteristic ultraviolet spectra of different types of compounds in licorice. Glycyrrhizin and fifteen flavonoids were well measured. All of these compounds can be precisely quantified at their characteristic wavelengths. This method has been successfully applied to the analyses of different licorices, Sini Tang decoction, and rat plasma after oral administration of Sini Tang decoction. These compounds were found to be over 3000 times in content (from 0.01 μg/g to 34.5 μg/g) in some samples.