Determination of diterpenoid triepoxides in Tripterygium wilfordii by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

A micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatographic (MEKC) method has been established for the identification and determination of diterpenoid triepoxides in the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F. and its preparations. Studies of the influence of boric acid and borax buffer concentration and pH, and of sodium dodecylsulphate (SDS) concentration have been carried out, and the optimum separation for the triepoxides was achieved using 20 mM boric acid and 10 mM borax with 20 mM SDS as the running buffer. MEKC was found to exhibit good accuracy, precision and repeatability. The sensitivity of the assay was sufficient to monitor the three active components in T. wilfordii and its preparations.