Simultaneous determination of flavonoids and triterpenoids in <i>Cyclocarya paliurus</i> leaves using high-performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

Background: Cyclocarya paliurus is an endangered plant and endemic to China. The leaves of C. paliurus have been used in drug formulations and as ingredients in functional foods in China. The aim of this study was to develop an effective method to extract most of the compounds and to establish a simplified HPLC analytical method to determine the contents of major bioactive compounds simultaneously. Materials and methods:High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with a photodiode array detector (PDA) was used for the simultaneous determination of the major flavonoids and triterpenoids in C. paliurus leaves.Results: Ultrasonic extraction in 100% methanol for 30 min was adopted as the optimal extraction method for C. paliurus leaves. The separation conditions were optimized using a Phenomenex C18 ODS column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) with a mobile phase of acetonitrile and 0.02% formic acid and a detection wavelength of 205 nm. The validation data indicated that this new HPLC analytical method successfully quantified the provenance and seasonal variations of seven major compounds (three flavonoids and four triterpenoids) in C. paliurus leaves. Conclusion:The study provided a novel and simplified approach to simultaneously determine the quantity of major flavonoids and triterpenoids in C. paliurus leaves. The results could promote the optimization of silvicultural systems for quality control of C. paliurus. Key words: Cyclocarya paliurus; HPLC; flavonoids; triterpenoidsAbbreviations: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC); photodiode array detector (PDA); total flavonoids content (TFC); total triterpenoids content (TTC). IntroductionCyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja is an endangered plant endemic to China and a monotypic genus of the Juglandaceae family. C. paliurus is commonly called "sweet tea tree" because of the sweet taste of its leaves (Fang et al., 2006). Sweet tea tree is naturally distributed in many provinces of Southern China, including Anhui, Fujian, Guangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou and Zhejiang (Fang and Fu, 2007). The leaves of C. paliurus have been used as herbal tea for hundreds of years He et al., 2013), and were used for drug formulations in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) or as ingredient of functional foods in China (Xie et al., 2010). The main chemical composition of C. paliurus leaves include flavonoids, triterpenoids, and polysaccharides . The extracts of C. paliurus were reported to have multiple beneficial effects, such as antihypertensive ), antihyperlipidemic (Wang et al., 2013Kurihara et al., 2003), antihyperglycemic (Wang et al.，2013；Li et al.，2011), antioxidant activity (Wang et al.，2013), and inhibitors of PTP1B (protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B) .Up to now, the raw materials of C. paliurus were harvested in the wild for herbal tea or nutraceutical products. As the market demand increased, the natural resources were seriously destroyed. More leaves must be produced within the plantation. Recently, a number of such plant...

Chemical Fingerprint and Multicomponent Quantitative Analysis for the Quality Evaluation of Cyclocarya paliurus Leaves by HPLC–Q–TOF–MS

“…However, HPLC has emerged as the most widely used method in practice for its easy availability and relatively low price [ 25 , 31 , 32 ]. With respect to detection wavelength, more detectable common peaks and larger response values could be obtained at 205 nm due to the lack of a chromophore group in the chemical structures of triterpenoids, which show mainly terminal absorptions such as 205 nm in their UV spectra [ 21 , 23 ]. Hence, characteristic chromatographic patterns were obtained by using 205 nm as the detection wavelength.…”

“…Since most botanical extracts have the therapeutic or preventable effects based on the synergic effects of their multiple components and multiple targets, it is insufficient to determine merely several markers of bioactive constituents in the complex botanical extracts [ 18 ]. Unfortunately, recent studies on the quality control of C. paliurus are only focused on a few selected flavonoids such as isoquercitrin, kaempferol and quercetin or a few selected triterpenoids because many marker components are not commercially available, especially some unique constituents originating from C. paliurus [ 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Obviously, the current analysis on bioactive constituents was insufficient to reflect the complexity and synergistic actions of multiple components in leaves of C. paliurus.…”

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals the Role of GA3 in Regulating the Asynchronism of Floral Bud Differentiation and Development in Heterodichogamous Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja

“…C. paliurus is generally known as the sweet tea tree, and its leaves are used to cure fever, detoxify, and alleviate pain [ 3 ]. Moreover, it was widely used in ancient China to make a medicinal tea [ 4 ]. Recently, various studies have found that many potentially bioactive compounds in the leaves of C. paliurus , including polysaccharides, proteins, minerals, phenolic compounds, vitamins, saponins, sugars, triterpenoids, and amino acid have beneficial effects on antihypertensive activity, hypoglycemic activity, hypolipidemic activity, and antioxidant activity [ 5 , 6 ].…”

Metabolome and Whole-Transcriptome Analyses Reveal the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Hypoglycemic Nutrient Metabolites Biosynthesis in Cyclocarya paliurus Leaves During Different Harvest Stages

“…Cyclocarya paliurus (Batal.) Iljinskaja, also known as the money tree, belongs to the family Juglandaceae and is one of the endangered medicinal plants protected by the state ( 1 – 4 ). Cyclocarya paliurus is a tall and fast-growing deciduous tree 10–30 m high that is widely distributed in the subtropical provinces of China ( 5 ).…”