HPLC METHOD FOR SIMULTANEOUS QUANTIFICATION OF URSOLIC ACID AND SCOPOLETIN IN NONI FRUIT (MORINDA CITRIFOLIA L.)

Noni fruit (Morinda citrifolia L.) is used widely in traditional Vietnamese medicine and in other countries around the world. The Vietnamese Pharmacopoeia has a monograph on Noni fruit, but there is no specific quantitative criterion for the main chemical components to control the quality of this herbal material rigorously. This study developed an HPLC-PDA method for simultaneous quantification of ursolic acid and scopoletin, two main components of Noni fruit. The method was evaluated according to the guidelines of ICH (2007) and AOAC (2023), fulfilling criteria for system compatibility, specificity, linear range, repeatability, and intermediate accuracy. The method had been applied to quantify 6 samples of Noni fruit collected from various regions in Vietnam. The results showed that ursolic acid and scopoletin are the main chemical constituents of Noni fruit in Vietnam with a range of content (7.360 - 13.570 mg/g) and (0.225 - 1.360 mg/g), respectively.