Determination of Benzo[a]pyrene in Edible Oil by High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Fluorescence Detector (HPLC-FL)

In this study, an optimized high performance liquid chromatography-fluorescence detector (HPLC-FL) method for the determination of benzo[a]pyrene in edible oil was established. HPLC was performed with Thermo Fisher Scientific C18 column (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm) as the chromatographic column and acetonitrile and water as the mobile phase, and the excitation wavelength and emission wavelength of fluorescence detector were 286 and 430 nm, respectively. The response was high, and the linear range was 0.5-10.0 ng/ml. The lowest limit of detection was 0.11 ng/ml, and the average recovery was 92.5%. This method is suitable for quantitative analysis of benzo[a]pyrene content in edible oil.

Efficient and selective extraction of uranium from seawater based on a novel pulsed liquid chromatography radionuclide separation method

The novel pulsed liquid chromatography radionuclide separation method presented here provides a new and promising strategy for the extraction of uranium from seawater.In this study,a new chromatographic separation method was proposed,and a pulsed nuclide automated separation device was developed,alongside a new chromatographic column.The length of this chromatographic column was 10 m,with an internal warp of 3 mm and a packing size of 1 mm,while the total separation units of the column reached 12,250.The most favorable conditions for the separation of nuclides were then obtained through optimizing the separation conditions of the device:Sample pH in the column=2,sample injection flow rate=5.698 mL/min,chromatographic column heating temperature=60℃.Separation experiments were also carried out for uranium,europium,and sodium ions in mixed solutions;uranium and sodium ions in water samples from the Ganjiang River;and uranium,sodium,and magnesium ions from seawater samples.The separation factors between the different nuclei were then calculated based on the experimental data,and a formula for the separation level was derived.The experimental results showed that the separation factor in the mixed solution of uranium and europium(1:1)was 1.088,while achieving the initial separation of uranium and europium theoretically required a 47-stage separation.Considering the separation factor of 1.50for the uranium and sodium ions in water samples from the Ganjiang River,achieving the initial separation of uranium and sodium ions would have theoretically required at least a 21-stage separation.Furthermore,for the seawater sample separation experiments,the separation factor of uranium and sodium ions was 1.2885;therefore,more than 28 stages of sample separation would be required to achieve uranium extraction from seawater.The novel pulsed liquid chromatography method proposed in this study was innovative in terms of uranium separation and enrichment,while expanding the possibilities of extracting uranium from seawater through chromatography.

Determination of Organic Acids in Root Exudates by High Performance Liquid Chromatography: I. Development and Assessment of Chromatographic Conditions *1

Methods for determining nine low molecular weight organic acids in root exudates were developed by using reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with UV (ultraviolet) detection at 214 nm. The mobile phase was 18 mmol L -1 kH 2PO 4 adjusted to pH 2.25 with phosphoric acid and the flow rate was 0.3 mL min -1 . The analytical column was a reversed phase silica based C 18 column (Shim pack CLC ODS). The root exudates were collected through submerging the whole root system into aerated deionized water for 2 hours. The filtered exudate solutions were concentrated to dryness by rotary evaporation at 40 °C, dissolved in 10 mL mobile phase. The chromatographic conditions of organic acid determination were analyzed. The results showed that there was a high selectivity and sensitivity in the organic acid determination by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. Coefficients of variation for organic acid determination were lower than 10% except lactic acid. The recoveries were consistently between 80.1% to 108.3%. Detection limits were approximately 0.05 to 4.5 mg L -1 for organic acids except succinic acid with the detection limit of 7.0 mg L -1 . Phosphorus deficiency may contribute to the release of organic acids in soybean root exudates especially malic, lactic and citric acids.

Determination of Voriconazole in Human Plasma by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Application in Therapeutic Drug Monitoring

A sensitive, accurate and robust Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry method has been developed and validated to measure voriconazole trough levels in human plasma. The plasma samples were mixed with fluconazole as an Internal Standard and directed to protein precipitation and drug extraction. An aliquot of 1 μl was injected into the chromatographic system and separated by the Acquity BEH C18 column at a flow rate of 0.30 ml/min in a gradient mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile, Ultrapure water (UPW), methanol and formic acid. Voriconazole was detected by a Triple Quadrupole Detector (TQD) operating on Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) and a positive ion mode Electrospray ionization (ESI) Q1 mass: 350.1 m/z, Q3 mass: 281.1 m/z. Method linearity of the calibration curve (0.10 - 8.00 μg/ml) indicated a correlation coefficient r ≥ 0.99. The intra and inter-assay accuracy was within 85% - 115% and the intra and inter-assay precision was ≤5.76%. Voriconazole recovery percentage was between 97.69 - 119.62%. The method was successively applied in routine voriconazole TDM.

A High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Five Index Components in Danhong Injection

The purpose of this study was to establish a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for the simultaneous determination of sodium danshensu, protocatechuic aldehyde, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, and 4-coumaric acid in Danhong injection. The chromatographic method employed was as follows: the column was a Welch Ultimate XB-C18 column (250 mm × 4.6 mm, 10 μm), the mobile phase was a gradient elution of 0.4% formic acid aqueous solution (A) and acetonitrile (B), the detection wavelengths were 280 nm for sodium danshensu, protocatechuic aldehyde, and salvianolic acid B and 326 nm for 4-coumaric acid and rosmarinic acid, the sample volume was 10 μL, the flow rate was 1.0 mL/min, and the column temperature was 35°C. This method can realize the separation and determination of sodium danshensu, protocatechuic aldehyde, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, and 4-coumaric acid within 50 minutes. The linear relationships of the five peak areas and their concentrations are good (R2> 0.9997). The precision RSD values are all less than 1.0%. The reproducibility RSD values are all less than 1.3%. The stability RSD values are all less than 2.2%. The recovery values ranged from 92.4% to 99.4%. This method is simple, accurate, and reproducible. It can be used for the determination of sodium danshensu, protocatechuic aldehyde, rosmarinic acid, salvianolic acid B, and 4-coumaric acid in Danhong injection.

Simultaneous Determination of Tetramethylpyrazine and Aspirin in a New Compound Formulation by Liquid Chromatography

Aim To establish a reversed-phase liquid chromatographic (LC) method forsimultaneous determination of tetramethylpyrazine (TMP) and aspirin in a new compound formulation.Methods Chromatographic separation of the two drugs was achieved on a Diamonsil C_(18) column, usinga binary mixture of methanol-1.5% acetic acid (35:65, V/V, pH = 3.1) as mobile phase at a flow rateof 1.0 mL·min^(-1). Results Separation was completed in less than 12 min. Benzoic acid was used asthe internal standard. Recoveries at levels corresponding to 80 % to 120 % of the label claim ofthe formulation ranged from 99.6 to 100.3 % for aspirin and from 99.9 to 101.3% for TMP. The linearrange was 12.6 - 150.9 μg·mL^(-1)(r= 0.9997, n = 5) for aspirin and 25.0- 300.0 μg·mL^(-1) (r =0.9999, n = 5) for TMP. Conclusion The method developed can be used for the simultaneousdetermination of TMP and aspirin in pharmaceutical preparations.

High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Ionization-Mass Spectrometric Analysis of Bilobalide and Ginkgolides in Ginkgo biloba L. Leaves

The ginkgo terpenoids including bilobalide and ginkgolides are the main pharmaceutical components in the leaves or extracts of Ginkgo biloba L. In this paper, the analysis of bilobalide and ginkgolides in leaves of Ginkgo biloba L. by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometry (MS) was carried out. The separation was performed on Inertsil ODS3 column with methanol-water (36:64) as mobile phase, with 1 mL·min -1 of flow rate at 35℃. Then the mass spectrum analysis was conducted by ZMD micromass electrospray ionization (ESI)-mass spectrometer (MS). The HPLC total ion chromatogram and selected ion chromatogram (with 325, 407, 423, 439 of m/z) of the sample and ESI-/MS mass spectra of the peaks in the chromatograms were obtained. So bilobalide, ginkgolide A, B, C and J in Ginkgo biloba L. leaves were identified. The method is easy and rapid, with a good accuracy.

Determination of trans-resveratrol in mouse liver by high performance liquid chromatography

To develop a sensitive high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） assay for the determination of trans-resveratrol in mouse liver. The whole liver of a mouse was removed from the body, homogenated, and extracted by ethyl acetate. The organic layer was isolated and evaporated to dryness, the residue was reconstituted in 0.2 mL mobile phase for centrifugation, and 50 uL of the supernatant was injected into the/-IPLC instrument. The sample was separated on a Shimadzu ODS column （150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 um） at 35 ℃ and detected by ultraviolet （UV） detector at the wavelength of 305 nm. The mobile phase consisted of methanol and 0.1 mol/L acetic acid （4：6, v/v） with the flow-rote at 1 mL/min. The limit of detection was 3.0 ng/g in liver homogenate with a signal/noise ratio of 3：1. The linear range of the calibration curve was 5.0-120.0 ng/g. The mean recoveries at the concentrations of 6, 10 and 80 ng/g were 102%, 96.0% and 91.5%, respectively. The RSDs for inter- and intra-day assays were less than 5%. Compared with other reported methods, this method was faster and more sensitive. It was also proved to be of good linearity, selectivity, accuracy and precision, and can be efficiently applied to the pharmacoldnetic study of trans-resveratrol in mouse liver.

Simultaneous determination of five nucleosides and nucleobases in Panax notoginseng using high-performance liquid chromatography

Aim To quantitatively determine five nucleosides and nucleobases, including cytidine, uridine, guanosine, adenosine and uracil in different parts of Panax notoginseng. Methods Separation was performed on a Zorbax SB-Aq column using a gradient elution with mobile phase of 8 mmol^L-1 ammonium acetate aqueous solution （A） and methanol （B）. The assay was carried out at a flow rate of 1 mL·min^-1 at 25 ℃ with the diode-array detection at 260 nm. Results Cytidine, uridine, guanosine, adenosine and uracil had good linearity in the ranges of 1.79 - 57.40 μg·mL^-1 （r^2 = 1.0000）, 3.30 - 105.60 μg·mL^-1 （r^2 = 1.0000）, 3.09 - 98.80 μg·mL^ -1（r^2 = 0.9999）, 2.77 - 88.60 μg·mL^-1 （r^2 = 1.0000） and 0.38 - 12.30 μg·mL ^-1 （r^2 = 1.0000） with average recoveries of 93.9%, 96.5%, 92.7%, 93.2% and 98.8%, respectively. The content of cytidine, uridine, guanosine, adenosine and uracil in different parts of P. notogingeng were significantly different. Conclusion This is the first report on quantitative determination of nucleosides and nucleobases in P notoginseng.

High-Performance Liquid Chromatographical Analysis of Ginsenosides in Panax ginseng,P.quinquef(?)lium and P.notoginseng

The compositions and contents of ginsenbsides in Panax ginseng,P.quinquefolium and P.notoginseng were determined and compared by reversed-phase High-Performance Liquid Chro- matography(HPLC).The method was performed on an Alltech Adsorbosphere HS C_(18) column,using 5×10^(-3)M NaH_2PO_4-H_3PO_4 buffer solution(pH 3.0)and acetonitrile-water(50:50)as gradient eluents. The baseline separation of ginsenosides Rb_1,Rb_2,Rb_1,Rc,Rd,Rf,Ro,and Re+Rg_1 was obtained in one analytical run.The ginsenosides are directly detected at 203 nm.The detection limit is 40μg at a signal to noise ratio of 3:1.The improved sample preparation and clean-up prior to injection with SEP-PAK C_(18)cartridge strongly reduced the front peaks caused by the impurities in the methanolic extracts of samples to afford a smooth baseline and clear background.The HPLC patterns of methanolic extracts mainly including the ginsenosides were found capable of serving as chemical fingerprints to differentiate the three species from each other.It was also found that there are no significant diffe- rences of the HPLC patterns between the wild Panax ginseng and the cultivated,the white and the red ginsengs,Chinese and Korean red ginsengs,and the tap roots of Panax ginseng collected in four consecutive months,only certain differences in contents of ginsenosides do exist.The contents of the nine major ginsenosides present in the rhizome,tap root and rootlet as well as the leaf of Panax quinquefolium were also determined and compared.

Novel method for the determination of five carbamate pesticides in water samples by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction combined with high performance liquid chromatography

A novel method for the determination of five carbamate pesticides （metolcarb, carbofuran, carbaryl, isoprocard and diethofencard） in water samples was developed by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction （DLLME） coupled with high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector （HPLC-DAD）. Some experimental parameters that influence the extraction efficiency were studied and optimized to obtain the best extraction results. Under the optimum conditions for the method, the calibration curve was linear in the concentration range from 5 to 1000 ng mL^-1 for all the five carbamate pesticides, with the correlation coefficients （r^2） varying from 0.9984 to 0.9994. Good enrichment factors were achieved ranging from 80 to 177- fold, depending on the compound. The limits of detection （LODs） （S/N = 3） were ranged from 0.1 to 0.5 ng mL^-1. The method has been successfully applied to the analysis of the pesticide residues in environmental water samples.

Determination of Tetracyclines and Their Epimers in Agricultural Soil Fertilized with Swine Manure by Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

A rapid, sensitive and specific ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS） method was developed for the analysis of tetracycline antibiotics, including tetracycline （TC）, oxytetracycline （OTC）, chlortetracycline （CTC） and their 4-epimers （4-epiTCs） in agricultural soil fertilized with swine manure. Soil samples were extracted and cleaned-up with 10 mL EDTA-McIlvaine buffer solution （pH 4.0）, then cleaned-up and pre-concentrated using the Oasis MAX cartridge and then eluted with 1 mL solution by mixing formic acid, methanol and water at a ratio of 2：15：83 （v/v/v）. The purified samples were separated by an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column using acetonitrile and water containing 0.1% formic acid mobile phase and detected by a single quadrupole MS. The limits of detection for the soil extraction method （LODsoil） ranged from 0.6-2.5 lag kg-~ with recoveries from 23.3-159.2%. Finally, the method was applied to an agricultural field in an area with intensive pig-fattening farming. Tetracyclines were detected in soil from 2.8 to 42.4 μg kg-1 soil. These results demonstrate that soil from swine farms can become severely contaminated with tetracycline antibiotics and their metabolites.

Development of the fingerprints for the quality evaluation of Viscum coloratum by high performance liquid chromatography

A high-performance liquid chromatography coupled ultraviolet （HPLC-UV） method was developed for a chemical fingerprint analysis of Viscum coloratura. Eighteen peaks were selected as the common peaks and Homoeriodictyol-7-O-β-D-apiosiyl-（1→2）-β-D-glucoside was used as a reference. The relative areas of common peaks were used for hierarchical clustering analysis and similarity calculation. Thirty-seven samples collected from different sources were classified into five groups. The similarities of 21 batches Viscum coloratura samples were beyond 0.90. The results obtained suggest that the chromatographic fingerprint can efficiently identify Viscum coloratum. Additionally, the fingerprints can then be used to evaluate the correlation between Viscum coloratura and hosts.

Advancements in the preparation of high-performance liquid chromatographic organic polymer monoliths for the separation of small-molecule drugs

The various advantages of organic polymer monoliths, including relatively simple preparation processes,abundant monomer availability, and a wide application range of pH, have attracted the attention of chromatographers. Organic polymer monoliths prepared by traditional methods only have macropores and mesopores, and micropores of less than 50 nm are not commonly available. These typical monoliths are suitable for the separation of biological macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acids, but their ability to separate small molecular compounds is poor. In recent years, researchers have successfully modified polymer monoliths to achieve uniform compact pore structures. In particular, microporous materials with pores of 50 nm or less that can provide a large enough surface area are the key to the separation of small molecules. In this review, preparation methods of polymer monoliths for high-performance liquid chromatography, including ultra-high cross-linking technology, post-surface modification, and the addition of nanomaterials, are discussed. Modified monolithic columns have been used successfully to separate small molecules with obvious improvements in column efficiency.

Screening potential mitochondria-targeting compounds from traditional Chinese medicines using a mitochondria-based centrifugal ultrafiltration/liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry method

Mitochondria regulate numerous crucial cell processes, including energy production, apoptotic cell death, oxidative stress, calcium homeostasis and lipid metabolism. Here, we applied an efficient mitochondria-based centrifugal ultrafiltration/liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry（LC/MS） method,also known as screening method for mitochondria-targeted bioactive constituents（SM-MBC）. This method allowed searching natural mitochondria-targeting compounds from traditional Chinese medicines（TCMs）, including Puerariae Radix（PR） and Chuanxiong Radix（CR）. A total of 23 active compounds were successfully discovered from the two TCMs extracts. Among these 23 hit compounds, 17 were identified by LC/MS, 12 of which were novel mitochondria-targeting compounds. Among these, 6 active compounds were analyzed in vitro for pharmacological tests and found able to affect mitochondrial functions. We also investigated the effects of the hit compounds on Hep G2 cell proliferation and on loss of cardiomyocyte viability induced by hypoxia/reoxygenation injury. The results obtained are useful for in-depth understanding of mechanisms underlying TCMs therapeutic effects at mitochondria level and for developing novel potential drugs using TCMs as lead compounds. Finally, we showed that SM-MBC was an efficient protocol for the rapid screening of mitochondria-targeting constituents from complex samples such as PR and CR extracts.

Determination of gouty arthritis' biomarkers in human urine using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Creatinine, uric acid, hypoxanthine and xanthine are important diagnostic biomarkers in human urine for gouty arthritis or renal disease diacrisis. A simple method for simultaneous determination of these biomarkers in urine based on reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography （RP-HPLC） with ultraviolet （UV） detector was proposed. After pretreatment by dilution, centrifugation and filtration, the biomarkers in urine samples were separated by ODS-BP column by elution with methanol/50 mM NaH2PO4 buffer solution at pH 5.26 （5：95）. Good linearity between peak areas and concentrations of standards was obtained for the biomarkers with correlation coefficients in the range of 0.9957-0.9993. The proposed analytical method has satisfactory repeatability （the recovery of data in a range of creatinine, uric acid, hypoxanthine and xanthine was 93.49-97.90%, 95.38-96.45%, 112.46-115.78%and 90.82-97.13%with standard deviation of o5%, respectively） and the limits of detection （LODs, S/N Z 3） for creatinine, uric acid, hypoxanthine, and xanthine were 0.010, 0.025, 0.050 and 0.025 mg/L, respectively. The established method was proved to be simple, accurate, sensitive and reliable for the quantitation of gouty arthritis＇ biomarkers in human urine samples. The ratio of creatinine to uric acid was found to be a possible factor for assessment of gouty arthritis.

Plasma free amino acid profiling of esophageal cancer using high-performance liquid chromatography spectroscopy

AIM: To perform plasma free amino acid (PFAA) profiling of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients at different pathological stages and healthy subjects.

Dispersive Liquid-liquid Microextraction Combined with High-performance Liquid Chromatography for the Determination of Clozapine and Chlorpromazine in Urine

A simple method has been proposed for the determination of clozapine （CLZ） and chlorpromazine （CPZ） in human urine by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction （DLLME） in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector （HPLC-UV）. All important variables influencing the extraction efficiency, such as pH, types of the extraction solvent and the disperser solvent and their volume, ionic strength and centrifugation time were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection （LODs） and quantification （LOQs） of the method were 13 and 39 ng/mL for CLZ, and 2 and 6 ng/mL for CPZ, respectively. The relative standard deviations （RSDs） of the targets were less than 5.1% （C=0.100 μg/mL, n=9）. Good linear behaviors over the tested concentration ranges were obtained with the values of R20.999 for the targets. The absolute extraction efficiencies of CLZ and CPZ from the spiked blank urine samples were 98.3% and 97.8%, respectively. The applicability of the technique was validated by analyzing urine samples and the mean recoveries for spiked urine samples ranged from 93.3% to 105.0%. The method was successfully applied for the determination of CLZ and CPZ in real human urine.

Offline two-dimensional liquid chromatography coupled with ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry enabling fourdimensional separation and characterization of the multicomponents from white ginseng and red ginseng

Inherent complexity of plant metabolites necessitates the use of multi-dimensional information to accomplish comprehensive profiling and confirmative identification.A dimension-enhanced strategy,by offline two-dimensional liquid chromatography/ion mobility-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry(2 D-LC/IM-QTOF-MS)enabling four-dimensional separations(2 D-LC,IM,and MS),is proposed.In combination with in-house database-driven automated peak annotation,this strategy was utilized to characterize ginsenosides simultaneously from white ginseng(WG)and red ginseng(RG).An offline 2 DLC system configuring an Xbridge Amide column and an HSS T3 column showed orthogonality 0.76 in the resolution of ginsenosides.Ginsenoside analysis was performed by data-independent high-definition MSE(HDMSE)in the negative ESI mode on a Vion?IMS-QTOF hybrid high-resolution mass spectrometer,which could better resolve ginsenosides than MSEand directly give the CCS information.An in-house ginsenoside database recording 504 known ginsenosides and 58 reference compounds,was established to assist the identification of ginsenosides.Streamlined workflows,by applying UNIFI?to automatedly annotate the HDMSEdata,were proposed.We could separate and characterize 323 ginsenosides(including 286 from WG and 306 from RG),and 125 thereof may have not been isolated from the Panax genus.The established 2 D-LC/IM-QTOF-HDMSEapproach could also act as a magnifier to probe differentiated components between WG and RG.Compared with conventional approaches,this dimensionenhanced strategy could better resolve coeluting herbal components and more efficiently,more reliably identify the multicomponents,which,we believe,offers more possibilities for the systematic exposure and confirmative identification of plant metabolites.

Comparison of protocatechuic aldchyde in Radix Salvia miitiorrhiza and corresponding pharmacological sera from normal and fibrotic rats by high performance liquid chromatography

AIM： To observe the effect of protocatechuic aldchyde on the proliferation of hepatic stellate cells （HSCs）. METHODS： Liver fibrosis was induced in rats by carbon tetrachloride （CCh）. Then normal and fibrotic drug sera were extracted from rats. The effects of protocatechuic aldchyde, raw Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and drug sera of Salvia miltiorrhiza on HSC growth were determined by CCKoS. The protocatechuic aldchyde was separated by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） in a AIItima C18 column （250 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm） with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-4% glacial acetic acid solution （gradient elution） at the wavelength of 281 nm. RESULTS： Protocatechuic aldchyde, raw Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and drug sera of Salvia miltiorrhiza were found to have inhibitory effects on proliferation of rat HSCs. Raw Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza had a stronger inhibitory effect than the drug sera. The fibrotic drug sera showed a higher suppressive effect than the normal drug sera （P 〈 0.05）. Protocatechuic aldchyde was found in crude materials of both Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza and its corresponding drug sera. The average recovery （n = 6） was 110.5% for raw Salvia miltiorrhiza Bge, 102% for normal drug sera and 105.2% for fibrotic drug sera. The relative standard devitation （RSD） was 0.37%, 1.96% and 1.51%, respectively （n=6）. The contents of protocatechuic aldchyde were 0.22%, 0.15% and 0.19%, respectively （n = 6） （P〈 0.05）. The RSD was 0.33%, 0.75% and 1.24% （n=6） for raw material of Radix Salvia miltiorrhiza, normal drug sera and fibrotic drug sera, respectively. The samples were stable for 6 d. CONCLUSION： Protocatechuic aldchyde can inhibit the growth of HSCs. HPLC is suitable for the determination of virtual bioactive components of Chinese herbal medicines in vitro.