A simultaneous determination of honokiol and magnolol in oriental pharmaceutical decoctions containing magnolia bark by ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography

Abstract

A simple method using ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography was established for the rapid and precise simultaneous determination of honokiol (3', 5-di-2-propenyl-1, 1'-biphenyl-2,4'-diol) and magnolol (5,5'-di-2-propenyl-1,1'-biphenyl-2,2'-diol) in oriental pharmaceutical decoctions containing Magnolia bark. An ODS column and a mixture of water involving 10 mM tetra-n-amylammonium bromide (TAA) and acetonitorile (4:6) as a mobile phase were used for the separation. Honokiol and magnolol were eluted without interference of other co-existing components within 12 min.