Simultaneous determination of four bioactive compounds in Verbena officinalis L. by using high-performance liquid chromatography

Background: Verbena officinalis L., called mabiancao in Chinese, is derived from the aerial part of Herba Verbanae. It is a traditional Chinese medicine commonly used in China and northern Europe, which is widely used for clearing away heat and detoxicating, promoting blood circulation, and removing blood stasis. This paper describes a sensitive and specific assay for the determination of four bioactive compounds in V. officinalis L. Materials and Methods: In this paper, the four components were separated on an Agilent Zorbax Extend C ₁₈ column (250 mm × 4.6 mm × 5 μm) and detected by a diode array detector. The mobile phase was composed of (a) aqueous phosphoric acid (0.1%, v/v) and (b) acetonitrile using a gradient elution. Analytes were performed at 30°C with a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min and UV detection at 203, 238, and 331 nm. Results: All calibration curves showed good linear regression (r² ≥ 0.9999) within tested ranges. Overall intra- and interday variations were less than 1.84%, and the average recoveries were 97.32-102.81% for analytes. Discussion and Conclusion: The proposed method would be sensitive enough and reliable for comprehensive quality control for clinical use and modernization of V. officinalis L.