Method Validation for the Determination of Eleutherosides and β-Glucan in Acanthopanax koreanum

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the method validation for the determination of eleutherosides (B and E) and β-glucan in Acanthopanax (A.) koreanum. This medicinal plant reportedly mainly included eleutherosides which exhibit the pharmacological effects, and β-glucan substantially enhances the function of the immune system by activating macrophages. The specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection (LOD, S/N=3), and limit of quantification (LOQ, S/N=10) were measured by HPLC and enzymatic methods. Our results showed that the co-efficient of calibration correlation (R2) for eleutheroside B and E were 0.9997 and 0.9999, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) for eleutheroside B and E were 0.050 μg/mL and 0.025 μg/mL, respectively. The recovery rate of eleutheroside B and E were revealed in the high range of 100.66～110.04 % and 94.26～111.62%, respectively. The inter-day precision of eleutheroside B and E in the root and stem in A. koreanum were 1.4～5.0 % and 1.1～2.5%, respectively. The intra-day precision of eleutheroside B and E in the root and stem in A. koreanum were 2.8～2.9% and 0.4～1.1%, respectively. Furthermore, the inter-day and intra-day precision of β-glucan in the stem, leaf, and fruit of A. koreanum were 1.32～5.67 % and 8.01～11.76%, respectively. In conclusion, the methods were validate