Objective To develop a rapid method of high performance liquid chromatography coupled with variable wave length UV detection for simultaneous determination of 9 natural functional ingredients including puerarin, silymarin, quercetin hydrate, schisandrol A, curcumin, tanshinoneⅠ, tanshinoneⅡA, cryptotanshinone, and dihydrotanshinoneⅠin functional food for anti-hangover and hepatoprotection. Methods The samples were ultrasonically extracted with 90 % ethanol (V/V) and centrifuged at 10 000 r/min for 10 min prior to HPLC analysis. The nine target analytes were separated on a C18 column with gradient elution using methanol and water (The pH value was adjusted to 2.5 using H3PO4) as the mobile phase. Qualitative analysis was carried out using retention times of the chromatographic peaks, while the external standard curves were established for quantification. Results Under the optimal analytical conditions, the peak area of each analyte and its concentration had a good correlation within the linear range ( r≥0.998). The limits of detection and quantification of the method were 0.38-0.73 mg/kg (S/N=3) and 1.27-2.43 mg/kg (S/N=10), respectively. The spiked recoveries of the analytes were 88.9%-103.2%, and the relative standard deviations were 1.3%-3.7%. Conclusion The method for the determination of 9 functional ingredients in functional food for anti-hangover and hepatoprotection was proposed for the first time in this study. The results showed that it could meet the requirement of routine analysis and quality control and evaluation.
