AbstractIntroductionIridoid glycosides possess highly functionalised monoterpenoid aglycon with several contiguous stereocentres. For the most common, they are often present in quantities reaching several percentage of the fresh plant weight, and thus they may be regarded as starting material for the synthesis of a number of new chiral and bioactive molecules.ObjectiveTo quantify and to isolate 8‐O‐acetylharpagide (AH) from several extracts of Oxera coronata R.P.J. de Kok, a Lamiaceae species endemic to New Caledonia, using HPLC‐ELSD (evaporative light scattering detector) and centrifugal partition chromatography (CPC).MethodologyOxera coronata produces high amounts of AH in leaves, twigs and fruits. Water and methanol extracts of these plant parts were prepared. The content of AH in each extract was quantified by HPLC‐ELSD, using acetonitrile–water (+0.1% formic acid) gradient elution. The HPLC method was validated for precision, linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ) and accuracy. A ternary solvent system ethyl acetate/n‐propanol/water (3:2:5, v/v/v) was selected and applied to recover the target compound using Spot CPC from the leaves aqueous extract.ResultsHPLC‐ELSD analysis followed by CPC purification led to the efficient isolation of AH from O. coronata leaves aqueous extract.ConclusionHPLC‐ELSD has proven to be a well‐adapted detection and quantification method for iridoid glycosides, while CPC confirmed to be an efficient technique for the isolation of polar compounds. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.