DETERMINATION OF THE ALKALOIDS IN COPTIS-EVODIA HERB COUPLE BY CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

A method combining the techniques of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) and capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) has be en developed to assay seventeen alkaloids in coptis-evodia herb couple . The MECC method, based on SDS, was applied to analyze three indolequ inazoline alkaloids and sis quinolone alkaloids in evodia within 30 mi nutes, and a CZE technique was used to determine eight quaternary alka loids (dehydroevodiamine in evodia, and seven protoberberine alkaloids in coptis) within 25 minutes. The recovery efficiencies were 96.68-10 3.19% in MECC and 99.65-103.28% in CZE, with a relative standard devia tion of 1.67-4.00% for MECC and 2.33-4.38% for CZE. The calibration cu rves exhibited good linearity over one order of magnitude of concentra tion, and their minimum detectable concentrations were approximately 1 5.78 to 47.33 mu g/mL using a 0.75 mu m inner diameter column. Content s of the seventeen alkaloids in a methanol-water crude extract of copt is-evodia herb couple could easily be determined by this method.