Holistic evaluation of San-Huang Tablets using a combination of multi-wavelength quantitative fingerprinting and radical-scavenging assays

The present study was designed to establish a multi-wavelength quantitative fingerprinting method for San-Huang Tablets(SHT), a widely used and commercially available herbal preparation, where high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) with a diode array detector(DAD) was employed to obtain the fingerprint profiles. A simple linear quantitative fingerprint method(SLQFM)coupled with multi-ingredient simultaneous determination was developed to evaluate the quality consistency of the tested samples qualitatively and quantitatively. Additionally, the component–activity relationship between chromatographic fingerprints and total radical-scavenging capacity in vitro(as assessed using the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl(DPPH) assay) was investigated by partial least squares regression(PLSR) analysis to predict the antioxidant capacity of new samples from the chromatographic fingerprints and identify the main active constituents that can be used as the target markers for the quality control of SHT. In conclusion, the strategy developed in the present study was effective and reliable, which can be employed for holistic evaluation and accurate discrimination for the quality consistency of SHT preparations and other traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) and herbal preparations as well.

Comprehensive Quality Evaluation of ShuXueNing Injection Employing Quantitative High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Fingerprint and Chemometrics

Objective:In this study,a comprehensive and effective quality method for evaluating the efficacy of ShuXueNing injection(SXNI)was developed.Materials and Methods:Quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography fingerprint,the quantitative analysis of multicomponents by a single marker(QAMS)method,hierarchical cluster analysis(HCA),and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis(OPLS-DA)were used to distinguish 53 batches of SXNI samples from 7 manufacturers.Results:A total of 53 batches of samples were analyzed to establish antithesis fingerprint of SXNI,and 12 peaks of the common model were collected and used for the similarity analysis.Meanwhile,six index flavonoid components were determined by the QAMS method,using rutin as internal reference substance.The accuracy of the QAMS method was confirmed by investigating the relative deviation between the QAMS method and the traditional external standard method.The results demonstrated that there was no significant difference(RE<1%),suggesting that QAMS was a reliable and convenient method for the content determination of multiple components.The HCA and OPLS-DA methods drew a similar conclusion.The 53 batches of SXNI samples from 7 manufacturers were categorized into five groups,indicating that chemometrics could reveal the quality differences of SXNI between the manufacturers.Conclusions:The method established herein was efficient and successful in assessing the quality of SXNI,and that it may be potentially employed in the quality control of related products composed of Ginkgo biloba extract.

Saponin Accumulation in Flower Buds of Panax notoginseng

Objective Panax notoginseng is an important Chinese medicinal plant. Saponin accumulation is higher in the flower buds than in the other parts of P. notoginseng. However, the flower bud compositions have not yet been quantified. The aim of this study is to investigate the formation and accumulation of saponins in the flower buds of P. notoginseng from different populations and at different growth years. Methods Fourteen types of P. notoginseng with different growing durations and from different areas of Wenshan County, Yunnan Province were collected. We separated P. notoginseng individually into the flower buds, stems, leaves, and roots at the places where it has the highest saponin content. An efficient high-performance liquid chromatography（HPLC） method was developed for simultaneously quantifying two active saponins, ginsenoside Rb1 and ginsenoside Rb3, in the flower buds of P. notoginseng. The total saponin content was determined by using a quantitative vanillin-sulfuric acid colorimetric method. HPLC method was used to establish the fingerprints of 13 saponins and then quantify the composition in the whole plant of P. notoginseng. Results The saponin contents of different parts differ significantly, and the total saponin content and those of Rb1 and Rb3 do not entirely correlated. The flower buds of P. notoginseng contain 27.79% of total saponins, which is the highest saponin content in the whole plant. Fingerprint result showed that different saponins were appeared in different parts of the plant, i.e. flower buds, stems, leaves, and roots.Conclusion The saponin contents from the flower buds of P. notoginseng vary depending on the growth area and duration. The fingerprints show that the saponin contents and compositions vary depending on the part of P. notoginseng. These results are useful for the pharmacological evaluation and quality control of P. notoginseng.