Abstract The official Japanese method for analyzing
aristolochic acid I (AA-I) in Asiasarum root using conventional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is
described in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, Sixteenth Edition.
Interfering peaks of AA-I sometimes appear after HPLC
analysis of crude drugs. A selective analytical method is
needed to determine definitively whether AA-I is present in
crude drugs. In this study, we developed a selective method
that combined solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) which may be useful for
identifying AA-I in crude drugs and for quality control.