A rapid method for total Β-escin analysis in dry, hydroalcoholic and hydroglycolic extracts of Aesculus hippocastanum L. by capillary zone electrophoresis.

Introduction: Seeds of Aesculus hippocastanum L. are used in European phytotherapy to treat inflammatory and vascular problems, and also to help in the regulation of the microcirculation. Thus, the quality control of herbal medicines using this species is important.

Objective: To develop and to optimise a capillary zone electrophoresis method to determine total β-escin in different extracts of A. hippocastanum L.

Methods: The optimal condition found through chemometric approach was: 25 mmol/L of bicarbonate-carbonate buffer, pH 10.3; +20 kV of voltage; 20°C of cartridge temperature; direct ultraviolet detection at 226 nm; 13 mbar injection for 5 s and analysis time within 6 min.

Results: Repeatability, coefficient of variation (CV; %) = 3.19, 3.07 and 1.89 (n = 12), and intermediate precision, CV (%) = 3.05, 3.53 and 2.99 (n = 24) for dry, hydroalcoholic and hydroglycolic extracts, respectively were achieved. The accuracy was evaluated through recovery tests in concentration levels of 100, 150 and 200 g/L, ranging from 98.17 to 104.68%. The proposed method exhibited linearity (r = 0.9983) in the concentration range from 101.4 to 907.2 g/L and limits of detection and quantification equal to 11.63 and 38.76 g/L respectively.

Conclusion: A fast and reliable methodology for determination of total β-escin was successfully validated and applied on extracts of A. hippocastanum L. demonstrating its usefulness to quality control of medicines containing this plant species.