Quantitative determination of icariin and osthole in Gushudan decoction by RP-HPLC

Objective To develop an RP-HPLC method for determination of icariin and osthole in the Gushudan decoction(traditional Chinese medicines).Methods The separation for icariin was performed on Hypersil ODS2 column ((250 mm) × (4.6 mm),(5 μm)) with acetonitrile-0.4% acetic acid (25∶75) as the mobile phase.The flow rate was (1.0 mL·min~(-1)) and the detection wavelength was set at (270 nm).The separation for osthole was performed on Hypersil ODS2 column((250 mm) × (4.6 mm),(5 μm)) with methanol-0.4% acetic acid (65∶35) as the mobile phase.The flow rate was (1.0 mL·min~(-1)) and the detection wavelength was set at (322 nm).Results The standard curve of icariin was linear in the range of 29.6～(473.6 mg·L~(-1)),the average recovery was 98.4% with RSD 1.7%.The standard curve of osthole was linear in the range of 38.5～(462.0 mg·L~(-1)),the average recovery was (99.2%) with RSD 1.6%.Conclusions The methods are simple,rapid and accurate,it can be used for the quality control of Gushudan decoction.