Establishment of chromatographic fingerprint and quality assessment of Carthamus tinctorius L.by high performance liquid chromatography

Aim To establish chromatographic fingerprint of Carthamus tinctorius L. by RP-HPLC in order to control the quality of Carthamus tinctorius L. Methods The gradient elution mode was applied in chromatographic separation, and data were analysed by “Computer Aided Similarity Evaluation” software to compare the quality of Carthamus tinctorius L. samples from different habitats. Results Samples from different habitats were of high similarity, though a few samples showed evident difference in fingerprint graphics. Conclusion The RP-HPLC fingerprint method is repeatable, feasible in analysis of Carthamus tinctorius L. and can be used in quality assessment of Carthamus tinctoriu s L.. Chemical components in Carthamus tinctorius L. samples from various habitats are similar, and their ratios between each other are stable.