Alkaloid profiling of the traditional Chinese medicine Rhizoma corydalis using high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Since alkaloids are the major active constituents of Rhizoma corydalis(RC),a convenient and accurate analytical method is needed for their identification and characterization.Here we report a method to profile the alkaloids in RC based on liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(LC–Q-TOF-MS/MS).A total of 16 alkaloids belonging to four different classes were identified by comparison with authentic standards.The fragmentation pathway of each class of alkaloid was clarified and their differences were elucidated.Furthermore,based on an analysis of fragmentation pathways and alkaloid profiling,a rapid and accurate method for the identification of unknown alkaloids in RC is proposed.The method could also be useful for the quality control of RC.

Comparative Study for Pharmacological Action of Corydalis Rhizoma before and after Processing

Objective To clarify the rationality and to provide reasonable usage references of processed Corydalis Rhizoma （CR） in clinic by comparing respectively pharmacological actions including analgesic, anti-inflammation, antiplatelet aggregation and spasmolysis of Yuanhu Zhitong Tablet （YZT） and Yanhusuo Decoction （YD） constituted with raw CR （RCR） or processed CR （PCR）. Methods The hot-board, acetic-acid- induced twisting experiments and mouse auricular swelling model by injecting xylene in the abdomen of mouse were adopted to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of the four formulas on Kunming mice; The experiment of contractile activity on isolated rat intestine smooth muscle on Wistar rats was applied to observing the spasmolysis effect of the four formulas; The experiments of platelet aggregation induced by ADP or collagen on Wistar rats by turbidimetry method were used to observe the anti-platelet aggregation effect of the four formulas. Results Compared with RCR in two prescriptions, PCR displayed better analgesic effect （P 〈 0.05, 0.01）, while there was no difference on anti-inflammatory effect; Inhibition of the two prescriptions on smooth muscle spasm was presented well, and the prescription YD with PCR was remarkable （P 〈 0.05, 0.01）; Compared with the blank group, the two prescriptions showed outstanding effects on anti-platelet aggregation （P〈 0.01）, but no difference between RCR and PCR in two prescriptions. Conclusion PCR can improve the analgesic effect of prescription YZT and intensify the spasmolysis effect of prescription YD, which can be explained by the Chinese medicine processing regulation. Therefore, PCR is suggested to be chosen in YZT and YD used to cure pain symptoms.

Determination of Protopine in Rat Brain Tissues by RRLC-ESI/Q-TOF-MS Method

Objective To analyse the quantification of protopine from Corydalis Decumbentis Rhizoma（CDR）extract in brain tissues of rats.Methods A rapid,sensitive,and accurate analytical method based on rapid resolution liquid chromatography（RRLC）coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry（Q-TOF-MS）was developed for the quantification of protopine in brain of rats.A simple liquid-liquid extraction process was employed for the sample preparation.Chromatographic separation was achieved using 1.8μm porous particle columns.Results The calibration curve of protopine was linear in the range of 12-897 ng/mL.The relative standard deviations of intra-and inter-day precision values were less than 10%.The extraction recoveries were 96.4%,99.6%,and 98.5%,for protopine at the concentration of 598.0,119.6,and 12.0 ng/mL,respectively,and internal standard（1.27μg/mL）was（98.60±0.02）%.Conclusion The validated method is successfully applied for the determination of protopine in brain tissue of rats after ig administration of CDR extract.