Conclusions
In summary, a simple, efficient and enhanced quality assessment method for CIF was established. In contrast to the conventional quality assessment standard of CIF, the SSDMC method overcame the scarcity and cost of chemical reference substances. It is the first time using SSDMC method for simultaneous quantification of the six components in CIF. The method proved to have good linearity, precision, recovery, stability and robustness. Additionally, fingerprint analysis in combination with SA and PCA was performed to identify the CIF samples from different regions under the same chromatographic conditions. The results demonstrated that HPLC coupled with determination using SSDMC method and fingerprint analysis is a powerful and practical tool for comprehensive quality control of CIF and can be replicated for other herbal medicines with multiple components.