Hanbing Li

Spectrum-effect relationships between ultra performance liquid chromatography fingerprints and anti-bacterial activities of Rhizoma coptidis.

The fingerprints of Rhizoma coptidis from various sources were established by ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) and the anti-bacterial activities of R. coptidis on Escherichia coli (E. coli) growth was studied by microcalarimetry. The UPLC fingerprints were evaluated using similarity analysis (SA) and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA). Some quantitative parameters obtained from the thermo-genic curves of E. coli growth affected by R. coptidis were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). The spectrum-effect relationships between UPLC fingerprints and anti-bacterial activities were investigated using canonical correlation analysis (CCA). The results showed that close correlation existed between the spectrum-effect relationships. Berberine, jateorrhizine and palmatine in the UPLC fingerprints might be the main anti-bacterial components. The anti-bacterial activities of R. coptidis were related with the main active constituents, along with the production place and the harvesting time of this herb, the latitude and longitude of the place. This work provides a general model of the combination of UPLC and microcalorimetry to study the spectrum-effect relationships of R. coptidis, which can be used to discover principle components of it on bioactivity.

Expression of the difference between the Cold (Han) and Hot (Re) natures of traditional Chinese medicines (Strobal and Rhubarb) based on the cold/hot plate differentiating assay.

In this study, objective differences between the Cold (Han) and Hot (Re) nature of traditional Chinese medicines, e.g. Strobal and Rhubarb, are determined by using a cold/hot plate differentiation technology. A novel, self-designed cold/hot plate differentiating instrument, with methodological study, was used to investigate the intervention of Strobal and Rhubarb on the temperature tropism of mice. Compared with the ICR and BALB/c mice, it was found that KM mice on the cold/hot plate were more sensitive to the change of temperature, within the tolerant temperature range of 15–40 °C The temperature tropism behavior of mice is influenced by treatment with Rhubarb and Strobal, as is the activity of ATPase in liver tissue. These trends are consistent with the definition of the Cold/Hot nature of Chinese medicines based on traditional Chinese medicinal theory. This study showed that the differences of the Cold/Hot nature of traditional Chinese medicines. might be objectively represented by the temperature tropism of animal by means of cold/hot differentiating assay.