The origin of Arecae Semen is a seed of Areca catechu Linné (Palmae) and it is used as an ingredient of Kampo formulae such as Kumibinroto and Nyoshinsan. The seed contains alkaloids such as arecaidine, arecoline, guvacoline and guvacine. Arecaidine, arecoline and guvacine in Arecae Semen can be analyzed on HPLC with solvent containing sodium lauryl sulfate as a mobile phase. However, this method is not very convenient mainly because of the bubbles of sodium lauryl sulfate. In this study, a new method for HPLC analyses of arecaidine, arecoline and guvacine in Arecae Semen without the use of sodium lauryl sulfate was investigated. Finally, a new method using perchloric acid as a mobile phase was developed.
