Abstract: Objective: To develop an HPLC method for determining ferulic acid in Sanliangban medicinal liquor. Methods: At a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min, the prepared analyte was injected at a level of 20 μL for detection at 316 nm. The column temperature was 25 ℃. Efforts were made to determine optimal column type and mobile phase composition. Moreover, the developed HPLC method was investigated in terms of its linear range, recovery rate, precision, reproducibility and stability. Results: Eclipse XDB-C18 column (250 mm × 4.60 mm, 5 μm) was the best column for separation of ferulic acid. Good separation was achieved using a mobile phase made up of acetonitrile and 0.1% phosphoric acid (15:85, V/V). The calibration curve for ferulic acid was linear within the range of 1.15–114.70 μg/mL (R2 = 0.9999). The precision (RSD), reproducibility (RSD), recovery rate and stability (RSD) of this method were 0.4% (n = 6), 1.2% (n = 6 × 2), 99.5% and 0.5% (n = 6 × 2), respectively. The RSD for 8 repeated determinations within 18 h was 1.4%. Conclusion: This method is simple, accurate, specific, reproducible and applicable for quality control of Sanliangban medicinal liquor.

Key words: ferulic acid, Sanliangban medicinal liquor, HPLC, quality analysis