J. of China Pharm. 20 (9), 27-28 (2011). Chuangshang No 1 compound oral liquid is a herbal TCM effective specially for promoting blood circulation for removing blood stasis and relieving pain. TLC of the extracts of the medicine 1) for Angelica sinensis and Ligusticum wallichii on silica gel with n-hexane – ethyl acetate 9:1, detection by viewing under UV 366 nm; 2) for Stigma Croci on silica gel with ethyl acetate – methanol – water 200:33:27, detection by viewing under daylight; 3) for Radix Paeoniae rubrathe (unpeeled root of common peony) on silica gel with chloroform – ethyl acetate – methanol – formic acid 200:25:50:1, detection by spraying with 5 % vanillin in sulfuric acid – ethanol 4:1 and heating until the zones were visualised.

J. AOAC Int. 95, 67-73 (2012). HPTLC fingerprint of four cycloartanes dikamaliartane-A (1) and dikamaliartane-B (2) and gummiferartane-1 (3) and gummiferartane-2 (4) in the gum resin from the leaf buds of Gardenia lucida or G. gummifera on silica gel with toluene – acetone 11:9. Detection by dipping in anisaldehyde reagent (anisaldehyde 0.5 % in methanol – acetic acid – sulfuric acid 17:2:1), followed by heating at 100 °C for 5 min. The hRf of compounds (1) to (4) were 60, 80, 90 and 70, respectively.

J. of Shandong Inst. of Commerce & Vocational Technol. 12 (1), 93-94 (2012). Description of a procedure for determination of picroside-l in Picrorhiza scrophulariiflora Pennell by TLC of its root extracts on silica gel with chloroform – methanol – ethyl acetate 7:3:5. Detection at UV 254 nm. Quantification of picroside-l by densitometry in absorbance mode at 282 nm. Validation of the procedure by investigation of the linearity range (0.6-3.0 µg/zone, R = 0.999, n = 5); of the stability (%RSD = 1.5, n = 5 in 90 min); of the precision (%RSD = 0.6, n = 5 within plate); and of the standard addition recovery (98.4 %, %RSD = 1.9, n = 5).

J. Planar Chromatogr. 25, 523-527 (2012). TLC of a mixture of 12 non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on silica gel with ethyl acetate - toluene - methanol - acetic acid 40:40:1:1. Quantitative determination by absorbance measurement at 254 nm. Limits of detection were in the range of 5-500 ng/zone. The method showed comparable results to a validated HPLC method.

J. of China Pharm. 21 (10), 26-27 (2012). Yifeitongluo granules are a herbal TCM preparation for the combined treatment of deficiency of both qi and yin. TLC of the extracts of the preparations on silica gel 1) for Rhizoma Polygonati, with chloroform – methanol – acetic acid 5:4:1, detection by spraying with 2.5 % phosphomolybdic acid in ethanol and heating at 105 °C until the zones are visible; 2) for Viola yedonensis Makino, with toluene – ethyl acetate – formic acid 5:3:1, detection under UV 366 nm; 3) for Stemona sessilifolia (Miq.) Miq, with toluene – propanone – methanol 16:6:1 after preconditioning with ammonia vapors, detection by spraying with 5 % potassium iodobismuthate and viewing in daylight.

Phytochem. Anal. 24, 303-308 (2013). HPTLC of chicoric acid (1), chlorogenic acid (2) and echinacoside (3) in commercial Echinacea products on silica gel with ethyl acetate - formic acid - acetic acid - water 100:11:11:17. Qualitative identification under UV 366 nm. Images were quantified and transformed into chromatograms, as signal intensities (peaks) versus hRf (retention factor) for a artificial neural network (ANN) correlation. LOD were 19, 46 and 29 ng/band, whereas LOQ were 63, 154 and 98 ng/band for (1), (2) and (3), respectively.

J. Planar Chromatogr. 26, 5-13 (2013). HPTLC of polystyrenes with molecular weight from 1920 to 520000 Da on silica gel with cyclohexane - tetrahydrofuran 39:11. The method allowed different ranges of molecular weight to be separated as a function of mobile phase composition using slight variations of cyclohexane and tetrahydrofuran. Comparison with other techniques for molecular weight distribution analysis is also discussed.

extracts for their composition and antioxidative activity. J. Planar Chromatogr. 26, 141-146 (2013). Micro 2D TLC fingerprint of Mentha sp. extracts on 5 x 5 cm cyano and diol phase with non-aqueous eluents (polar modifier dissolved in n-heptane) as the first direction eluents and aqueous eluents (organic modifier - methanol dissolved in water) as the second direction eluents. Detection by absorbance measurements at 254 and 366 nm. The method allowed the identification of 17 substances to differentiate varieties of Mentha piperita.