Abstract
Salvianolic acid A (Sal A), a water-soluble ingredient in Danshen, has various biological activities. Sal A and its impurities have similar physical and chemical properties, as well as strong reducibility; therefore, they are difficult to prepare and purify. In this study, high-purity Sal A was obtained by purification of sephadex chromatography and preparative chromatography. Furthermore, HPLC-DAD tandem ECD and HPLC-DAD tandem MS methods were used for non-volatile organic impurity analysis, ICP-MS method was used for non-volatile inorganic impurities and mass balance method and quantitative nuclear magnetic resonance were employed to certify the product. The structures of Sal A and its relative impurities were validated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, and their contents were quantified as well. Following the principles of ISO Guides 34:2009 and 35:2005, a Sal A reference material was certified, covering homogeneity studies, stability studies, characterization, and uncertainty estimations.