Objective: The quantitative method was established of total saponins in Periploca forrestii and the content of the general saponins of Periploca forrestii from different places was determined. Method: Ursolic acid was selected as control article.Coloration was used with 5% vanillin and perchloric acid.The content of total saponins in P. forrestii was determined at 550 nm by UV. Result: The calibration curve was linear over the range of 9-55 mg·L-1 with the correlation of 0.999 2

and the linear regression equation was A=0.011 9 C+0.097 2.The average recovery of ursolic acid was 97.16% with RSD of 1.3%(n=6). The contents of the total saponins in P. forrestii from various habitats was quite different. Conclusion: The method is accurate

simple

sensitive and reliable. So it can be used to determine the content of total saponins in P. forrestii.