Establishment of chromatographic fingerprint and quality assessment of Carthamus tinctorius L. by high performance liquid chromatography

AimTo establish chromatographic fingerprint of Carthamus tinctorius L. by RP-HPLC in order to control the quality of Carthamus tinctorius L. MethodsThe gradient elution mode was applied in chromatographic separation, and data were analysed by “Computer Aided Similarity Evaluation” software to compare the quality of Carthamus tinctorius L. samples from different habitats. ResultsSamples from different habitats were of high similarity, though a few samples showed evident difference in fingerprint graphics. ConclusionThe RP-HPLC fingerprint method is repeatable, feasible in analysis of Carthamus tinctorius L. and can be used in quality assessment of Carthamus tinctorius L.. Chemical components in Carthamus tinctorius L. samples from various habitats are similar, and their ratios between each other are stable.