Analysis of Sesquiterpene Lactones by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

High performance liquid chromatography on octyl- and octadecyl-silica (RP-8 and RP-18) stationary phases offers an efficient and rapid method for analysis of sesquiterpene lactones. A mixture of 11 lactones was analyzed using gradient elution with increasing acetonitrile concentration in water and monitoring the column effluent at 210 nm with an UV detector. The described method has been applied to the determination of costunolide in a crude extract from leaves of Laurus nobilis.