Simultaneous Determination of Eleven Bioactive Constituents in Honey-Processed Licorice by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detector and Its Application from the Perspective of Processing Influence under Orthogonal Design

Objective:The aim of this study was to develop a reliable approach to simultaneously quantify 11 markers and explore the quality variation in honey-processed licorice.Materials and Methods:A high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 markers(nine flavonoids and two triterpenoid saponins)in honey-processed licorice.The changes to the 11 markers in honey-processed licorice were investigated using an orthogonal design with three input factors.Results:The established method was precise,accurate,and sensitive enough for the simultaneous quantitative evaluation of 11 markers in honey-processed licorice.Intuitive analysis and variance analysis revealed that(1)the soaking time of crude licorice,stir-frying temperature,and stir-frying time remarkably influenced the content of liquiritin apioside,signifying the decomposition of liquiritin apioside to liquiritin or transformation of liquiritin apioside to isoliquiritin apioside,(2)stir-frying temperature significantly influenced licorice-saponin G2,(3)stir-frying temperature was the most important factor of the three input factors,(4)in terms of composition,honey fried licorice had significant effects on two components,namely liquiritin apioside and licorice-saponin G2.Conclusions:Honey processing influenced the content of the 11 licorice analytes differently.This paper highlights the first report on how the quality of honey-processed licorice varies under different processing conditions and suggests the optimal levels of the investigated three factors as A2B2C3 according to the degrees of influence of these factors on the 11 components.Specifically,the soaking time of crude licorice with honey solution,stir-frying temperature,and stir-frying time were 40 min,100°C,and 20 min,respectively.

Study on Quality Markers and Action Mechanisms of Inulae Flos on Anti-Hepatitis Through Network Pharmacology and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Fingerprints

Objective:The objective of the study is to combine network pharmacology with high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)to screen for quality markers(Q-markers)of Inulae Flos and predict mechanism on anti-hepatitis.Materials and Methods:Active ingredient library of Inulae Flos is structured using databases and the literature.“Compound-target-pathway”network on anti-hepatitis and protein–protein interaction(PPI)network are constructed using network pharmacology.Next,chromatographic fingerprints of Inulae Flos in 7 origins are obtained through HPLC,and chemometric analysis is implemented to identify chemical markers,which is combined with network pharmacology to identify Q-markers and detect content.Results:1,6-O,O-Diacetylbritannilactone,Ivangustin,and Inulanolide A are key ingredients of Inulae Flos to interact with 82 potential targets related to anti-hepatitis.Furthermore,signal transducer and activator of transcription 3,tumor necrosis factor,interleukin-6,and transcription factor AP-1 are the core targets in the PPI network.Chromatographic fingerprints of the Inulae Flos define 20 common peaks and identify 8 peaks using reference substances.Through partial least square discriminant analysis,7compounds including caffeic acid,chlorogenic acid,and 1,6-O,O-Diacetylbritannilactone were main chemical markers for variability.1,6-O,O-Diacetylbritannilactone is both a key ingredient and exclusive chemical marker.Therefore,1,6-O,O-diacetylbritannilactone is a Q-marker of Inulae Flos,and the average content is 1.82 mg/g.Conclusion:1,6-O,O-diacetylbritannilactone is determined to be a Q-marker of Inulae Flos.

Ultra-performance Liquid Chromatography-Quadrupole/Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry Based Bile and Urine Metabonomics Study on the Ameliorative Effects of Curcuma wenyujin Rhizoma on Acute Blood Stasis in Rats

Background: Curcuma wenyujin rhizome(CWR) is a commonly used Chinese herbal medicine for treating blood stasis in China for 1000 of years. However, the underlying mechanism of CWR remains unclear. Aims and Objectives: The purpose of this study is to clarify the bioactive mechanism of CWR in treating blood stasis. Materials and Methods: In this study, pharmacological indexes, including hemorheology and four blood coagulation indexes were tested. Bile and urine metabolomics were engaged by UPLC-Q/TOF-MS. Multivariate statistical analysis were used to screen out differential endogenous metabolites. Results: The results indicated that CWR significantly ameliorated the hemorheology and coagulation functions of acute blood stasis(ABS) model rats. Moreover, 27 endogenous metabolites between the CWR group and the ABS group were screened, and the levels were all improved to certain degrees by CWR preadministration. Metabonomics results indicated that ABS was mainly related to linoleic acid metabolism, arachidonic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, pentose and glucuronate intercereasonversions, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and primary bile acid biosynthesis. Conclusion: In a word, the metabolomics method is consistent with the holistic view of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) that can be a powerful means to illustrate the biological activity mechanism of CWR in treating blood stasis and to offer research demonstration for further study on the effector mechanism of TCM.