An Overview on Analytical Methods for Quantitative Determination of Aristolochic Acids

Background: Aristolochic acids are chemically linked to nitrophenanthrene carboxylic acids which are found in aristolochia plants. These compounds are intrinsically carcinogenic, while they have been used in traditional medicine from a long time ago. Despite the beneficial effects of herbals for treating some diseases, they possess some side effects. Methods: Therefore, the development of a sensitive and selective procedure for the determination of these harmful components in various complicated samples is an important task for health systems and drug authorities. In the past years, ultra-pressure liquid chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis with different detection systems were used for determination of aristolochic acids in various samples. Results: In this review, different analytical methods have been discussed in brief and applications of them in diverse samples have been summarized. Conclusion: Different approaches are compared from point of sensitivity, selectivity, and extraction efficiency.