A Simple and Rapid UPLC-PDA Method for Quality Control of Nardostachys jatamansi.

is a well-documented herbal agent used to treat digestive and neuropsychiatric disorders in oriental medicinal systems. However, few simple, rapid, and comprehensive methods were reported for quality assessment and control of . Herein, a UPLC with photodiode array detection method was developed for both fingerprint investigation of and simultaneous quantitative analysis of the six serotonin transporter modulatory constituents in . For chromatographic fingerprinting, 24 common peaks were selected as characteristic peaks to assess the consistency of samples from different retail sources. Six of the common peaks (5, 7, 12: , and 16:  - 18: ) were identified as desoxo-narchinol A, buddleoside, isonardosinone, nardosinone, kanshone H, and (-)-aristolone, respectively, by phytochemical investigation. Five of the six compounds significantly either enhanced or inhibited serotonin transporter activity, while (-)-aristolone (18: ) didn't show any serotonin transporter activity. In quantitative analysis, the six compounds showed good linearity (> 0.999) within test ranges. The precision, expressed as relative standard deviation, was in the range of 0.25 - 2.77%, and the recovery of the method was in the range of 92 - 105%. The UPLC-photodiode array detection-based fingerprint analysis and quantitative methods reported here could be used for routine quality control of .