Chemical fingerprint and quantitative analysis for quality control of polyphenols extracted from pomegranate peel by HPLC

A simple and efficient HPLC fingerprint method was developed and validated for quality control of the polyphenols extracted from pomegranate peel (PPPs). Ten batches of pomegranate collected from different orchards in Shaanxi Lintong of China were used to establish the fingerprint. For the fingerprint analysis, 15 characteristic peaks were selected to evaluate the similarities of 10 batches of the PPPs. The similarities of the PPPs samples were all more than 0.968, indicating that the samples from different areas of Lintong were consistent. Additionally, simultaneous quantification of eight monophenols (including gallic acid, punicalagin, catechin, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, epicatechin, rutin, and ellagic acid) in the PPPs was conducted to interpret the consistency of the quality test. The results demonstrated that the HPLC fingerprint as a characteristic distinguishing method combining similarity evaluation and quantitative analysis can be successfully used to assess the quality and to identify the authenticity of the PPPs.