Valtrate is the main drug quality control for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of Valerian medicines in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2010. However, valtrate is unstable under some conditions. We, for the first time, systemically evaluated the stability of two bath reference standards （RS） by high performance liquid chromatography coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer （HPLC-MS/MS）. The forced degradations of valtrate were performed to evaluate its optimal storage, transportation and experiment conditions according to ICH guideline. The developed HPLC method was validated to determine the degradation products. Valtrate RS was sensitive to alkaline and thermal conditions, but it was relatively stable under acidic, oxidation and photolysis conditions. A total of nine degradation components were identified under alkaline hydrolysis （N1-N4） and thermal degradation （B1-B5）. The information obtained in this work would be valuable to minimize the decomposition of valtrate during the processes of preparation, storage, distribution and utilization. It was highly suggested to store valtrate with a single dose packing in brown closed ampoule at -20℃. Under the above-mentioned storage condition, valtrate could be stable for up to 3 years.
