Separation and identification of active components in the extract of Rheum natural products by microemulsion electrokinetic chromatography

Abstract

A new microemulsion electrokinetic chromatographic method based on a butan-1-ol–ethyl acetate–water microemulsion for the separation and determination of five components in Rheum plant was developed. The migration behavior of these analytes was studied and the separation efficiency was optimized by the systematic examination of the microemulsion content and acetonitrile concentration in the run buffer. Resolution was enhanced for neutral compounds by adjusting the microemulsion and acetonitrile content. Extracts of a Rheum plant sample were analyzed and five active components were determined. An equation describing the migration behavior of compounds at different acetonitrile concentrations was also derived by simulation.