Simultaneous quantification of five dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans in Schisandra chinensis by HPLC separation and fluorescence detection

A new, sensitive and specific high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was developed for determination of five dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans (schisandrols A and B (1 and 2) and schisandrins A-C (3–5)) in Schisandra chinensis by fluorescence detection (FLD). The separation of analytes was recorded at excitation wavelength of 254 nm and emission wavelength of 330 nm using a reversed phase C18 column by a gradient elution program with a mobile phase gradient consisting of methanol and water at a flow rate of 1.0 mL min−1. The method validation included its linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD), and limit of quantitation (LOQ). The values of LOQs for 1–5 were 15, 37.5, 3, 100 and 15 times lower than those obtained by HPLC-UV detection method. Furthermore, in terms of sensitivity such as schisandrins B and C (4 and 5), this method can be comparable to mass spectrometry. The established method was then successfully applied for the quantification of lignans in S. chinensis due to different harvest time and from different regions.