Abstract

Flavonoid and icariin contents of five barrenwort species native to Sichuan, China, of the genus Epimedium were determined by means of HPLC and UV. The icariin and flavonoid contents of the root, stem and leaf differed significantly among five barrenwort species, and showed the same trend in the five barrenwort species and significantly differed from each other, that's leaf > root> stem, except icariin contents of the E. davidii and E. chlorandrum. Although only the leaf of five barrenwort species meet the standards, the root and stem still can be utilized for herbalist and manufacturing medicines. The icariin content extracted from long-term storage barrenwort was little available, but not flavonoid contents.

Key words: Barrenwort, icariin, flavonoid, Sichuan