Abstract: The monacolin K in sufu was separated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with Nova-Pak C18 column(150×3.9 mm, 4μm) at 50 ℃.The mixed solution of water (containing 0.3% phosphatic acid) and ethanol was used as mobile phase for gradient elution at a rate 0.50 ml/min. And the absorbance was measured at 237 nm. The results showed that when the contents of acid form and lactone form monacolin k are in 0.2～14 mg/L, there are good linear relationships between absorbance and content respectively. The average recoveries are 89.7%, and 94.8%, and relative standard deviations range between 1.5% to 2.9%, respectively.

Key words: HPLC, sufu, monacolin K