A simple, sensitive and accurate method based on high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detector (DAD) was developed and validated for systematic quality evaluation of one type of traditional Chinese medicine preparations named Xinkeshu (XKS) tablet. In this study, the chromatographic fingerprints of XKS tablet were developed first, 23 peaks were selected as the common peaks to evaluate the similarities among different batches of XKS samples, which were manufactured in a long time span of three years. Additionally, simultaneous quantification of six markers in XKS tablet, including Danshensu, Protocatechuic aldehyde, Puerarin, Daidzin, Salvianolic acid B and Daidzein, was performed. The validation results showed that the developed method was specific, accurate, precise and robust. The preliminary explanation on why a close similarity between fingerprints did not exactly mean similar contents of chemical components in samples was given. The contribution of each chromatographic peak to similarity was also evaluated. The developed method offers an efficient, reliable and practical approach for systematic quality evaluation of XKS tablet.
