Abstract: In this study,a new strategy for quantitative analysis of multi-components using a single marker (QAMS) was developed and validated to analyze six catechins (epigallocatechin,catechin,epicatechin,epigallocatechin gallate,gallocatechin gallate,and epicatechin gallate) in tea polyphenols extract by HPLC.The QAMS method is based on the relative correction factor (RCF) between each analyte and single standard within certain concentration ranges.In the present study,epigallocatechin gallate was selected as the internal reference substance.The RCFs values between epigallocatechin gallate and the other five catechins were investigated using five different types of chromatographic columns.The content of other five components were calculated by RCFs,respectively.Meanwhile,the content of the six analytes was also determined by a conventional external standard method to compare with QAMS method.Finally,the angle cosine value which were all above 0.999542 revealed that there was no significant difference between the QAMS method and the external standard method.The QAMS method established in this study solved the problem of the availability and high cost of some standard substances,and would be useful for providing an efficient and feasible quality assessment method for tea polyphenols extract and its preparations.

Key words: tea polyphenols extract, catechins, quantitative analysis of multi-components via single marker method, high performance liquid chromatography