Simultaneous Determination of Six Alkaloids in Ephedrae Herba by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Abstract

A new and rapid analytical method for the simultaneous determination of six Ephedra alkaloids (ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, methylephedrine, and methylpseudoephedrine) in Ephedrae Herba by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been developed. Recoveries of each alkaloid were 96.0-101.6% with coefficients of deviation of 1.7-3.0%. The contents of six alkaloids in three species of Ephedra indigenous to China are determined and reported.