Identification and content determination of (+)-pinoresinol in Forsythia suspensa

Objective To separate and identify pinoresinol, and to determine the content of pinoresinol in Forsythia suspensa. Methods Pinoresinol was separated from Forsythia suspensa by distillation and silica gel column methods. The content of pinoresinol in the fruits of Forsythia suspensa was determined by TLC densitometric scanning. Results The content of pinoresinol in Forsythia suspensa was 0.121%. Its structure was identified with spectral methods including IR, NMR and MS etc. Conclusion It is feasible to evaluate the quality of Forsythia suspensa on the basis of the content of (+) pinoresinol.