Quantification of seven phenylpropanoid compounds in Chinese Cinnamomi Cortex and Ramulus by HPLC

In the present study, we developed and validated a high-performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous determination of seven phenylpropanoid compounds （2-hydroxyl cinnamaldehyde, coumarin, cinnamyl alcohol, cinnamic acid, 2-methoxy cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde and 2-methoxy cinnamaldehyde） in Cinnamomi Cortex and Cinnamomi Ramulus. The levels of seven phenylpropanoid compounds in Cinnamomi Cortex and Cinnamomi Ramulus were compared using this method. A total of 48 samples （27 Cinnamomi Cortex and 21 Cinnamomi Ramulus） were purchased in China and analyzed. Quantities of seven phenylpropanoid compounds ranged from 17.5 to 61.6 mg/g in Cinnamomi Cortex and ranged from 9.91 to 23.4 mg/g in Ciunamomi Ramulus. The level of 2-methoxy cinnamic acid in the Cinnamomi Cortex samples was below the LOD, whereas it ranged from 0 to 0.119 mg/g in the Cinnamomi Ramulus samples. The （cinnamyl alcohol＋cinnamic acid）/cinnamaldehyde ratios （R346） of Ciunamomi Cortex and Cinnamomi Ramulus ranged from 0.0121 to 0.0467 and 0.0598 to 0.182, respectively. This ratio could be used to discriminate Cinnamomi Cortex （〈0.05） and Cinnamomi Ramulus （〉0.05）. The extraction rates （Dn） of seven compounds in boiling water were different, with the lowest dissolution for cinnamaldehyde （〈3%） and the highest for cinnamic acid （about 60%）.