Jingjuan Wang

Analysis of Chuanxiong Rhizoma and its active components by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy combined with two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy.

As complicated mixture systems, active components of Chuanxiong Rhizoma are very difficult to identify and discriminate. In this paper, the macroscopic IR fingerprint method including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the second derivative infrared spectroscopy (SD-IR) and two-dimensional correlation infrared spectroscopy (2DCOS-IR), was applied to study and identify Chuanxiong raw materials and its different segmented production of HPD-100 macroporous resin. Chuanxiong Rhizoma is rich in sucrose. In the FT-IR spectra, water eluate is more similar to sucrose than the powder and the decoction. Their second derivative spectra amplified the differences and revealed the potentially characteristic IR absorption bands and combined with the correlation coefficient, concluding that 50% ethanol eluate had more ligustilide than other eluates. Finally, it can be found from 2DCOS-IR spectra that proteins were extracted by ethanol from Chuanxiong decoction by HPD-100 macroporous resin. It was demonstrated that the above three-step infrared spectroscopy could be applicable for quick, non-destructive and effective analysis and identification of very complicated and similar mixture systems of traditional Chinese medicines.

Evaluation on the concentration change of paeoniflorin and glycyrrhizic acid in different formulations of Shaoyao-Gancao-Tang by the tri-level infrared macro-fingerprint spectroscopy and the whole analysis method

As a kind of common prescriptions, Shaoyao-Gancao-Tang (SGT) contains two Chinese herbs with four different proportions which have different clinical efficacy because of their various components. In order to investigate the herb-herb interaction mechanisms, we used the method of tri-level infrared macro-fingerprint spectroscopy to evaluate the concentration change of active components of four SGTs in this research. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Second derivative infrared spectroscopy (SD-IR) can recognize the multiple prescriptions directly and simultaneously. 2D-IR spectra enhance the spectral resolution and obtain much new information for discriminating the similar complicated samples of SGT. Furthermore, the whole analysis method from the analysis of the main components to the specific components and the relative content of the components may evaluate the quality of TCM better. Then we concluded that paeoniflorin and glycyrrhizic acid were the highest proportion in active ingredients in SGT-12:1 and the lowest one in SGT-12:12, which matched the HPLC-DAD results. It is demonstrated that the method composed by the tri-level infrared macro-fingerprint spectroscopy and the whole analysis can be applicable for effective, visual and accurate analysis and identification of very complicated and similar mixture systems of traditional Chinese medicine.

Simultaneous Determination of 8 Compounds in Gancao-Ganjiang-Tang by HPLC-DAD and Analysis of the Relations between Compatibility, Dosage, and Contents of Medicines

Gancao-Ganjiang-Tang (GGT) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription and is a representative prescription for recuperating depleted Yang in Treatise on Febrile Diseases. The TCM theory believes that the efficacy of medicinal herbs is decided by the multicompounds which consist of different kinds of chemical constituents with bioactivities, but not by a monomeric constituent. From ancient times until today, GGT have 5 different kinds of compatibilities that can be verified. In this study, a HPLC-DAD method was established for the simultaneous determination of 8 compounds including 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 6-shogaol, liquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritin, isoliquiritigenin, and glycyrrhizic acid in the five GGT. The total contents of the 8 compounds in GGT varied from 555.56 to 956.33 μg/mL. The effects showed that the dosage and compatibility of medicinal herbs have influenced the content of chemical compounds of TCM prescription while the content of chemical compounds has acted on clinical efficacy. Quality evaluation and active essence screening of TCM (including single herb and prescription) should be based on the TCM theory and clinical effectiveness. The method was proven to be suitable for quality control of GGT.