Quantitative fingerprinting based on the limited‐ratio quantified fingerprint method for an overall quality consistency assessment and antioxidant activity determination of Lianqiao Baidu pills using HPLC with a diode array detector combined with chemometric methods

Lianqiao Baidu pills are widely used herbal medicinal preparation that were analyzed to develop a quality consistency technique. The characteristic fingerprints of 28 batches of Lianqiao Baidu pill samples were established at five wavelengths and simultaneously assessed by using a limited‐ratio quantified fingerprint method using 15 marker compounds. The principal component analysis and fingerprinting results were compared, and the qualitative classification of the samples by principal component analysis agreed with their quantitative evaluation by the limited‐ratio quantified fingerprint method. Furthermore, the antioxidant activities of the samples were surveyed and determined using a 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical‐scavenging approach. A relationship between the common peaks in the fingerprints and the antioxidant activities was established using a partial least squares model. The relationship can be used both to determine the antioxidant activities of the Lianqiao Baidu pill preparations in vitro and as a reference for the selection of active constituents for sample quality classification. The classification results for the samples based on principal component analysis agreed with the quantitative evaluation by the limited‐ratio quantified fingerprint method, which demonstrated that the method can be applied to the holistic quality control of traditional Chinese medicine and herbal preparations.     

Monitoring quality consistency of Liuwei Dihuang Pill by integrating the ultraviolet spectroscopic fingerprint,a multi‐wavelength fusion fingerprint method,and antioxidant activities

Liuwei Dihuang Pill, a classical traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat kidney yin deficiency in China for hundreds of years. Little attention, however, has been paid to quality control methods for this formulation. In the present study, we aimed to establish a comprehensive and practical quality evaluation system for Liuwei Dihuang Pill. Thus, ultraviolet spectroscopic fingerprints and multi‐wavelength fusion fingerprints have been proposed for quality consistency evaluation of the popular patent. The similarity analysis of Liuwei Dihuang Pill samples was evaluated by systematic quantitative fingerprint method from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. The results showed that 26 batches of samples were classified into five grades for fusion fingerprints and three grades for ultraviolet spectroscopic fingerprints. Moreover, the fingerprint–efficacy correlation was also established and confirmed through the partial least squares model to visualize the antioxidant activity of Liuwei Dihuang Pill in vitro. In conclusion, these results indicated that integrating ultraviolet spectroscopic fingerprints and multi‐wavelength fusion fingerprints coupled with antioxidant activities provide a rapid and effective approach to monitor the quality consistency of Liuwei Dihuang Pill.     

Quality Assessment of Cardiotonic Pills by HPLC Fingerprinting

An HPLC method has been developed for the fingerprinting and quantitative analysis of cardiotonic pills. A standard fingerprint containing 11 common peaks at three wavelengths was constructed from ten batches of pills to evaluate batch-to-batch consistency. In addition, the amounts of three marker compounds were also determined to evaluate the quality of the quantitative analysis. Chromatographic fingerprints at three wavelengths, along with the content of three marker compounds were found to be suitable for quality assessment. Fufang Danshen Pian (cardiotonic tablets), a traditional dosage form is produced from three kinds of Chinese medicinal herbs for the prevention and treatment of angina pectoris and coronary heart disease. Fufang Danshen Pian mainly contained an additional group of liposoluble components besides salvianolic acid B from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge while cardiotonic pills only contained water-soluble components. Therefore, the fingerprint accompanied with marker compounds can be used to assess the quality of the cardiotonic pills.     

Novel strategy for quality consistency evaluation of Chinese medicine “YIQING” tablet that combines the simultaneous quantification and screening of ten bioactive constituents

The UV characteristics for different categories compounds in complex traditional Chinese medicines and herbal preparations usually vary. Thus, to achieve the integral analysis of multiwavelength fingerprint characteristics, we introduced a novel strategy of multiwavelength total fusion profiling. The simultaneous separation and quantification of multiple components by reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection was developed in an effective, accurate, and reliable way. Furthermore, a 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) scavenging assay was set up to detect and screen the bioactivity of similar‐structure constituents (aloe‐emodin, rhein, emodin, chrysophanol, baicalein, wogonin, baicalin, wogonoside, berberine hydrochloride, and jatrorrhizine hydrochloride). Moreover, the high‐performance liquid chromatography DPPH assay was developed to monitor the relationship between the biological activity and the spatial structure, the number of hydroxyl groups, the concentration of the analytes in samples. The result of qualitative classification for 15 batches of “YIQING” tablets using principle component analysis was consistent with the quantitative fingerprint assessment using the average linear quantitative fingerprint method. Therefore, chemometrics, multiwavelength total fusion profiling in conjunction with average linear quantitative fingerprint method and antioxidant activity can control the quality of traditional Chinese medicines/herbal preparations comprehensively and practically.     

Assessment of quality consistency in traditional Chinese medicine using multi‐wavelength fusion profiling by integrated quantitative fingerprint method: Niuhuang Jiedu pill as an example

Under the wave of the revival of traditional Chinese medicine, there is a quite imperative duty to study an integrated and comprehensive method of fingerprint data processing and analysis on the quality consistency of traditional Chinese medicine. So, we proposed six parameters from two aspects (qualitative and quantitative), three levels (biased to strong peaks, biased to weak peaks, no obvious bias), to comprehensively evaluate the similarity of the two fingerprints. On this basis, another five parameters were proposed to evaluate the integrated effects (consistency, volatility, and similarity). This method was applied to 22 batches of Niuhuang Jiedu pill samples. Next, a practical and convenient multi‐wavelength fusion method was designed to provide more information, and the generated fusion profilings were used for subsequent evaluation. The characteristics of the parameters were confirmed by correlation analysis. The results of both hierarchical clustering analysis and principal component analysis for raw data and standardized data were consistent with integrated quantitative fingerprint method results. At the same time, this method gave a reasonable explanation for abnormal and dissimilar samples. This work illustrated that the proposed method was particularly suitable for similarity analysis of fingerprints and capable of ensuring the quality consistency in traditional Chinese medicine.     

Total monitoring of the constituents of Danshen tablet using micellar electrokinetic chromatography fingerprinting for antioxidant activity profiling

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography fingerprint coupled with quantification was developed for assessing the quality consistency of Danshen tablets, a traditional Chinese medicine, with pharmacological activities of activating blood to remove blood stasis and regulating the flow of vital energy to alleviate pain. Square optimization method was proposed to select the suitable background electrolyte. Subsequently, the index of chromatographic fingerprints F was simultaneously employed as an objective function to evaluate capillary electrophoresis conditions. After that, the method was proved to meet the fingerprint analysis criteria by evaluating stability, linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, precision, accuracy, and repeatability. Moreover, systematic quantified fingerprint method was used to evaluate chromatographic fingerprints of 30 batches of samples in terms of both quality and quantitation. The result indicated that the chemical compositions of samples were basically similar while their contents showed marked variation. In addition, the fingerprint–efficacy relationship was established using partial least squares model, which can serve as anti‐oxidant activity evaluation of Danshen tablets as well as a reference for the selection of active constituents. The proposed method can be applied for the holistic quality control of Danshen tablets.     

Capillary electrophoresis fingerprints combined with chemometric methods to evaluate the quality consistency and predict the antioxidant activity of Yinqiaojiedu tablet

The quality consistency of Yinqiaojiedu tablets (YQJDTs) was monitored by extracting their electrophoretic fingerprint and marker compound data that were obtained using capillary electrophoresis. To select the suitable background electrolyte, wing‐shape method was proposed. A background electrolyte composed of 103.1 mM boric acid, 51.6 mM sodium borate, 9.8 mM disodium hydrogen phosphate, and 15.6 mM sodium dihydrogen phosphate was used to separate compounds. Under the optimized conditions, the content of three marker compounds was determined in 25 YQJDT samples. The capillary electrophoresis fingerprints were developed simultaneously, then 25 samples from two manufacturers were clearly divided into two clusters based on the principal component analysis. In fingerprint assessments, systematic quantified fingerprint method was adopted for integrative quality discrimination of YQJDTs from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives, by which the qualities of 25 samples were well differentiated. In addition, partial least squares model was established to explore fingerprint–efficacy relationship between the fingerprints and the antioxidant activities in vitro, providing clinically useful information for quality control. The proposed method was reliable and comprehensive, which could be used for a valuable reference to monitor the quality consistency of traditional Chinese medicines.     

Monitoring the quality consistency of Fufang Danshen Pills using micellar electrokinetic chromatography fingerprint coupled with prediction of antioxidant activity and chemometrics

A fast micellar electrokinetic chromatography fingerprint method combined with quantification was developed and validated to evaluate the quality of Fufang Danshen Pills, a traditional Chinese Medicine, which has been used in the treatment of cardiovascular system diseases, in which the tetrahedron optimization method was first used to optimize the background electrolyte solution. Subsequently, the index of the fingerprint information amount of I was performed as an excellent objective indictor to investigate the experimental conditions. In addition, a systematical quantified fingerprint method was constructed for evaluating the quality consistency of 20 batches of test samples obtained from the same drug manufacturer. The fingerprint analysis combined with quantitative determination of two components showed that the quality consistency of the test samples was quite good within the same commercial brand. Furthermore, the partial least squares model analysis was used to explore the fingerprint–efficacy relationship between active components and antioxidant activity in vitro, which can be applied for the assessment of anti‐oxidant activity of Fufang Danshen pills and provide valuable medicinal information for quality control. The result illustrated that the present study provided a reliable and reasonable method for monitoring the quality consistency of Fufang Danshen pills.     

Integrated evaluation of HPLC and UV fingerprints for the quality control of Danshen tablet by systematic quantified fingerprint method combined with antioxidant activity

Danshen tablet, which consists of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma and Borneolum syntheticum , has been widely used in the therapy of cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to develop comprehensive evaluation methods for the quality control of Danshen tablet. First, five‐wavelength fusion fingerprint was established to avoid one‐sidedness of a single wavelength. Then, the ultraviolet spectrum fingerprint was applied to reflect the information of unsaturated bond and conjugated system of chemical substances in Danshen tablet. The similarity analyses of these two fingerprints were performed by systematic quantified fingerprint method in terms of qualitative and quantitative aspects. After that, the evaluation results of high‐performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet fingerprints were integrated by the mean algorithm, which could reduce the error caused by single method. The integrated evaluation results showed that 30 batches of samples were classified into seven grades. Finally, the fingerprint–efficacy relationship was established using an on‐line antioxidant system and partial least‐squares model to explore the connection between chemical components and antioxidant activities. The methods established in this paper were found suitable for the analysis of Danshen tablet.     

Micellar electrokinetic chromatography fingerprinting combined with chemometrics as an efficient strategy for evaluating the quality consistency and predicting the antioxidant activity of Lianqiao Baidu pills

An approach combining micellar electrokinetic chromatography fingerprinting with chemometrics was developed to evaluate the quality consistency of Lianqiao Baidu pills, which are traditional Chinese patent medicines composed of 19 herbs used mainly to treat skin ulcers, common cold, rheumatism, herpes, and constipation. The triangle optimization method was employed to choose a satisfactory background electrolyte, with the information index, I , as an objective function for assessing the capillary electrophoresis conditions. Then, under the optimal conditions, the micellar electrokinetic chromatography fingerprints of 28 batches of samples were established, and five marker compounds were quantitatively determined simultaneously. A limited‐ratio quantified fingerprint method was introduced to evaluate the chromatographic fingerprints both qualitatively and quantitatively. Principle component analysis revealed that the 28 batches of samples can be clustered according to different manufacturers. Moreover, the relationship between the fingerprint and the antioxidant activity was explored by orthogonal partial least‐squares regression, which provided critical medicinal efficacy information for quality control. The present study establishes a powerful and reliable method for monitoring the quality consistency of Lianqiao Baidu pill.     

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography fingerprints combined with multivariate statistical analyses to evaluate the quality consistency and predict the fingerprint–efficacy relationship of Salviae miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma (Danshen)

Micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography fingerprinting combined with quantification was successfully established and applied to evaluate the quality consistency of Danshen, which is a medicinal herb used to treat various diseases, especially coronary cerebrovascular diseases. A background electrolyte composed of 20 mmol/L sodium tetraborate, 90 mmol/L orthoboric acid, 25 mmol/L sodium phosphate monobasic dehydrate, and 65 mmol/L sodium dodecyl sulfate was used to separate compounds. To optimize micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography conditions, a response surface strategy was set up for orthogonal experimental design. In fingerprint assessments, a systematic quantified fingerprint method was established for integrated quality assessment of Danshen samples from qualitative and quantitative perspectives, by which the quality of 30 samples was well differentiated. The principal component analysis coupled with quantitative determination of two components was applied to explain that the quality consistency of the medicinal herb was relatively good within one harvest season, but poor among harvest seasons for the Danshen samples. In addition, the fingerprint–efficacy relationship between the chemical fingerprints and antioxidant activities was investigated utilizing orthogonal projection to latent structures, which provided important medicinal efficacy information for quality control. This work offered an efficient, holistic, and powerful approach to evaluate the quality consistency of Danshen samples.     

基于信息融合的中药多元色谱指纹图谱相似性计算方法

摘要用信息融合算法合并多张色谱指纹图谱, 解决中药多元指纹图谱相似性评价难题, 提出一种多元色谱指纹图谱相似度计算方法. 用该方法先对各单元指纹图谱进行串行或并行象素级信息融合, 再对融合了各指纹峰信息的多元色谱指纹图谱进行相似度评价. 计算机仿真和复方丹参滴丸多元HPLC指纹图谱应用结果表明, 该法能够评价中药多元色谱指纹图谱相似度, 定量表征中成药产品批次间质量波动情况.     

Multiple chromatographic fingerprinting and its application to the quality control of herbal medicines

Recently, chromatographic fingerprinting has become one of the most powerful approaches to quality control of herbal medicines. However, the performance of reported chromatographic fingerprinting constructed by single chromatogram sometimes turns out to be inadequate for complex herbal medicines, such as multi-herb botanical drug products. In this study, multiple chromatographic fingerprinting, which consists of more than one chromatographic fingerprint and represents the whole characteristics of chemical constitutions of the complex medicine, is proposed as a potential strategy in this complicated case. As a typical example, a binary chromatographic fingerprinting of “Danshen Dropping Pill” (DSDP), the best-sold traditional Chinese medicine in China, was developed. First, two HPLC fingerprints that, respectively, represent chemical characteristics of depsides and saponins of DSDP were developed, which were used to construct binary chromatographic fingerprints of DSDP. Moreover, the authentication and validation of the binary fingerprints were performed. Then, a data-level information fusion method was employed to capture the chemical information encoded in two chromatographic fingerprints. Based on the fusion results, the lot-to-lot consistency and frauds can be determined either using similarity measure or by chemometrics approach. The application of binary chromatographic fingerprinting to consistency assessment and frauds detection of DSDP clearly demonstrated that the proposed method was a powerful approach to quality control of complex herbal medicines.     

多囊卵巢综合征相关雄性激素的液相色谱-串联质谱检测

建立了液相色谱-串联质谱(LC-MS/MS)检测血清中硫酸脱氢表雄酮(DHEAS)、雄烯二酮(A4)、睾酮(T)、17-羟基孕酮(17-OHP)、双氢睾酮(DHT)5种激素的分析方法。血清样本经蛋白沉淀后,采用固相萃取,经Agela Venusil MP C18色谱柱(3.0 mm×50 mm,3μm)分离,以含0.1%甲酸的甲醇和含0.02%甲酸的水为流动相进行梯度洗脱。使用正-负离子多反应监测模式进行数据采集。结果表明,5种激素在各自质量浓度范围内线性关系良好(r2>0.995),回收率为96.0%~105%,各激素的批内精密度和批间精密度均小于10%,DHEAS、A4、T、17-OHP、DHT的定量下限(LOQ)分别为5.00、0.05、0.05、0.025、0.025 ng/mL。该方法快速、准确、灵敏,适用于临床对多囊卵巢综合征(PCOS)患者血清雄性激素水平的检测。     

中药粉体物理指纹图谱研究进展

中药(TCM)粉体是中药口服固体制剂的重要中间体或产品,粉体的物理性质不仅影响制剂成型,而且直接或间接影响产品质量.中药粉体种类众多、尺度各异,采用物理指纹图谱可从物理状态层面整体评价中药粉体质量,并可将其作为对中药粉体含量测定或HPLC指纹图谱评价的补充,这为中药粉体全面质量控制提供了新的工具和思路.该文系统梳理了中...     

Capillary electrophoresis fingerprinting coupled with chemometrics to evaluate the quality consistency and predict the antioxidant activity of Sanhuang tablet as part of its quality control

A capillary electrophoresis fingerprint was constructed for Sanhuang tablet, a Chinese traditional patent medicine, that was commonly used in clinical practice, where the isosceles trapezoid method was first applied for the optimization of background electrolyte solution, and the resolution index was performed to assess the experimental conditions; furthermore, a novel linear quantitative fingerprint method was established for accurate qualitative and quantitative discrimination of the test samples from diverse commercial brands. The fingerprint analysis coupled with quantitative determination of two components was employed to elucidate that the quality consistency of the products was relatively good within one manufactory, but poor among different companies for the 30 batches of samples. In addition, the fingerprint–efficacy relationship between chemical components and antioxidant activity in vitro was investigated using partial least squares analysis, and the calibration and prediction of the antioxidant activity of the selected samples via fingerprint data were presented with the desired results. This work illustrates that the proposed fingerprint analysis based on linear quantitative fingerprint method can be applied for the quality evaluation of traditional Chinese medicine and herbal preparations as part of their quality control, and the constructed mathematical model is particularly suitable for depicting the fingerprint–efficacy relationship.     

基于三波长融合谱的系统指纹定量法鉴定龙胆泻肝丸的真实质量

建立了龙胆泻肝丸(Longdanxiegan pill,LDXGP)三波长融合高效液相色谱(HPLC)指纹图谱,以系统指纹定量法全面鉴定LDXGP的质量。采用反相高效液相色谱法(RP-HPLC),运用多波长融合指纹图谱技术对色谱图进行处理,以黄芩苷为参照物峰,确立了63个共有指纹峰,以宏定性相似度为参量对12个厂家的12批LDXGP进行聚类分析,确定用其中10批生成对照指纹图谱(RFP),以此RFP为标准用系统指纹定量法评价12批LDXGP的质量。结果鉴别出9批质量完全合格,1批含量明显偏高,2批化学成分数量和分布比例不合格。基于多波长融合技术的系统指纹定量法是评价中药真实质量的可靠方法。     

Quality assessment of Cinnamomi Ramulus by the simultaneous analysis of multiple active components using high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography and high‐performance liquid chromatography

A novel and improved method for the quality assessment of Cinnamomi Ramulus was developed and completely validated. The method was established using fingerprint technology and simultaneous quantitative determination of six main marker compounds including coumarin, cinnamic alcohol, cinnamic acid, 2‐methoxy cinnamic acid, cinnamaldehyde, and 2‐methoxy cinnamaldehyde in the herbal medicine for the first time. A newly developed high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography method, which achieved simultaneous definition of five marker components by comparing the colors and retardation factor values of the bands in high‐performance thin‐layer chromatography, was first used for the authentication of Cinnamomi Ramulus. The fingerprints of 26 batches of herbal samples from different regions of China showed very similar chromatographic patterns that were evaluated by similarity analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis. In addition, six marker compounds were simultaneously determined using single standard to determine multiple components by the relative response factors. Compared with the external standard method, the new quantitative method was validated to determine multiple compounds in 26 batches of Cinnamomi Ramulus samples. All results demonstrated that the simple and rapid method could be effectively utilized for the quality control of Cinnamomi Ramulus.     

基于标准制剂控制模式和定量指纹图谱评价复方甘草片的质量一致性

通过建立复方甘草片标准制剂（SP）控制模式和定量高效液相色谱指纹图谱,结合5个质量标志物的精准定量评价了9个厂家共145批复方甘草片质量一致性。首先建立了复方甘草片标准制剂的标准指纹图谱（SP-RFP）,然后以SP-RFP作为评价标准,采用系统指纹定量法对145批复方甘草片进行整体定性和整体定量评价。用双标校正法校正定量指纹图谱的系统误差,结果表明所检样品质量均合格。此外,在统一化色谱条件下测定各原料药和模拟样品,对制剂指纹进行归属相关度和准确度评判,得到原料指纹与制剂指纹的相关性,从而实现智能预测制剂或原料药质量和阻止低劣原料入药。同时用紫外全指纹溶出度法测定5个厂家的复方甘草片的溶出度曲线,用以评价制剂工艺的合理性。以上方法可行且准确度高,实现了对复方甘草片质量和工艺的一致性评价。该文为中药质量一致性评价提供了基础评价模式和基本操作思路以及具体实例。