Rapid analysis of Radix puerariae by near-infrared spectroscopy

A new, rapid analytical method using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was developed to differentiate two species of Radix puerariae (GG), Pueraria lobata (YG) and Pueraria thomsonii (FG), and to determine the contents of puerarin, daidzin and total isoflavonoid in the samples. Five isoflavonoids, puerarin, daidzin, daidzein, genistin and genistein were analyzed simultaneously by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD). The total isoflavonoid content was exploited as critical parameter for successful discrimination of the two species. Scattering effect and baseline shift in the NIR spectra were corrected and the spectral features were enhanced by several pre-processing methods. By using linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and soft independent modeling class analogy (SIMCA), samples were separated successfully into two different clusters corresponding to the two GG species. Furthermore, sensitivity and specificity of the classification models were determined to evaluate the performance. Finally, partial least squares (PLS) regression was used to build the correlation models. The results showed that the correlation coefficients of the prediction models are R = 0.970 for the puerarin, R = 0.939 for daidzin and R = 0.969 for total isoflavonoid. The outcome showed that NIRS can serve as routine screening in the quality control of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM).     

高效液相色谱手性流动相添加剂法分离3种黄酮类化合物对映体

采用反相高效液相色谱法(RP-HPLC),以磺丁基醚-β-环糊精(SBE-β-CD)作为手性流动相添加剂,建立了二氢黄豆苷原(dihydrodaidzein)、雌马酚(equol)和山姜素(alpinetin)3种黄酮类化合物的手性拆分方法。考察了环糊精的种类和浓度、有机相的种类和比例、缓冲盐的种类和浓度以及pH对3种化合物手性拆分效果的影响。结果表明:采用Kromasil 100-5C₁₈(250 mm×4.6 mm, 5 μm)色谱柱,流动相为乙腈-10 mmol/L SBE-β-CD水溶液(含20 mmol/L KH₂PO₄, pH值到4.0)(体积比为20:80)的条件下,二氢黄豆苷原、雌马酚和山姜素的对映体都达到了基线分离,分离度分别为1.8, 1.9和1.4。该方法简便,分离效果好,对黄酮类化合物的拆分具有应用价值。     

Simultaneous determination of selenium and arsenic contents in different extracts of Radix Astragali by enhancement effect of ethanol in hydride generation-inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry

A new method was developed for simultaneous determination of trace arsenic and selenium in different extracts of Radix Astragali by enhancement effect of ethanol in hydride generation-inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (HG-ICP-AES) with a microwave digestion system. The effects of the concentration of the hydride generating reagent (NaBH₄), ethanol concentration, different extraction methods and pre-reducing reagents on selenium and arsenic emission intensity were discussed and optimized. The contents of selenium and arsenic in different extracts (polysaccharide, amino acid, astragaloside, and water decoction,) in Radix Astragali were analyzed. The proposed method was validated by the use of two plant reference samples {poplar leaf (GBW07604) and tea (GBW07605)}. The detection limits (3σ) were 7.0 ng L^− 1 and 2.0 ng L^− 1 for Se(IV) and As(III) and relative standard deviations (RSD) were 1.8% and 2.3%, respectively. The determination of Selenium and Arsenic contents in different extracts of Radix Astragali would provide useful information for the quality control of Radix Astragali.     

A new A431/cell membrane chromatography and online high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry method for screening epidermal growth factor receptor antagonists from Radix sophorae flavescentis

The intracellular kinase domains of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in some tumor cells such as human epidermal squamous cells (A₄₃₁ cells) are an important target for drug discovery. We have developed a new A₄₃₁/cell membrane chromatography (A₄₃₁/CMC)-online–high performance liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) method for screening EGFR antagonists from medicinal herbs such as traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs). In this study, A₄₃₁ cells with high EGFR expression levels were used to prepare cell membrane stationary phase (CMSP) in an A₄₃₁/CMC model. The retention fractions eluted from the CMSP column were enriched onto an ODS pre-column and then switched into an HPLC/MS system by combining a 10 port columns switching valve. The screening results found that oxymatrine and matrine from Radix sophorae flavescentis (RSF) were the targeted components which could act on EGFR in similar manner of gefitinib as a control drug. There was a good relationship of their inhibiting effects on EGFR secretion and A₄₃₁ cell growth in vitro. This new A₄₃₁/CMC-online-HPLC/MS method can be applied for screening EGFR antagonists from TCMs such as RSF. It will be a useful method for drug discovery with natural medicinal herbs as a leading compound resource.     

Qualitative and quantitative determination of polyacetylenes in different Bupleurum species by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector and mass spectrometry

Polyacetylenes are main toxic ingredients in Bupleurum longiradiatum, a poisonous plant that has ever been misused as substitutes for Chaihu (Bupleuri Radix). For the first time, a high-performance liquid chromatography method coupled with diode array detector and mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS) was developed for qualitative and quantitative analysis of nine polyacetylenes in Bupleurum species. All references, including two new polyacetylenes, were isolated from B. longiradiatum and purified using a semi-preparation HPLC chromatography. The analysis was performed on a TSKgel ODS-100V C18 column (3 μm, 150 mm x 4.6 mm i.d.) using a gradient system of acetonitrile and water, with diode array detection (254 nm). The method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection and quantification. A total of 27 Bupleurum samples were examined with this method, which showed a great variety in the distribution and contents of the polyacetylenes. It was found that polyacetylenes (1-8) were the main ingredients in B. longiradiatum, while a few kinds of polyacetylenes (5-8) were also identified in B. smithii, B. smithii var. parvifolium, B. bicaule and B. angustissimum. However, no polyacetylenes (1-9) were detected in the authentic Chaihu samples and the other Bupleurum species. The results indicated that the toxic B. longiradiatum could readily be distinguished from other medicinal Bupleurum species based on the polyacetylene profiles, and the guidelines and quality control of polyacetylenes for Chaihu are useful. The acute toxicity of the ethanol extract of B. longiradiatum and its fractions was also investigated.     

Fingerprint quality control of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with discriminant analysis

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed in the fingerprint analysis of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels. A chromatographic profile of A. sinensis (Oliv.) Diels from the Dingxi District of Gansu province, China, was established as the characteristic fingerprint. The feasibility and advantages of employing chromatographic fingerprint combined with discriminant analysis were investigated and demonstrated for the evaluation of A. sinensis (Oliv.) Diels for the first time. Our results showed that the chromatographic fingerprint combining with discriminant analysis can efficiently distinguish A. sinensis (Oliv.) Diels from various areas.     

Analysis and retention behavior of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones in Radix Astragali by HPLC with hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin as a mobile phase additive

In order to determine isoflavone glycosides (calycosin‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside and formononetin‐7‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside) and aglycones (calycosin and formononetin), a simple HPLC method with isocratic elution employing hydroxypropyl‐β‐cyclodextrin (HP‐β‐CD) as a mobile phase additive was developed. Various factors affecting the retention of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones in the C₁₈ reversed‐phase column, such as the nature of cyclodextrins, HP‐β‐CD concentration, and methanol concentration, were systematically studied. The results show that HP‐β‐CD, as a very effective mobile phase additive, can markedly reduce the retention of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones, and the decrease magnitudes of isoflavone aglycones are more than those of their glycosides. The role of HP‐β‐CD in the developed HPLC method is attributed to the formation of the inclusion complexes between isoflavone glycosides (or aglycones) and HP‐β‐CD. So, the apparent formation constants of the isoflavone glycosides (or aglycones)/HP‐β‐CD inclusion complexes also were investigated. Isoflavone glycosides (and aglycones) form the 1:1 inclusion complexes with HP‐β‐CD, and the isoflavone aglycones/HP‐β‐CD complexes are more stable than the isoflavone glycosides/HP‐β‐CD complexes. Finally, the optimized method was successfully applied for the determination of isoflavone glycosides and aglycones in Radix Astragali samples.     

Classification and quantification analysis of Radix scutellariae from different origins with near infrared diffuse reflection spectroscopy

A rapid near infrared spectroscopy analysis method was developed for the geographical origin discrimination and content determination of Radix scutellariae, a kind of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). 81 R. scutellariae samples from six different origins were analyzed with HPLC-UV as reference method. The NIR spectra were collected in integrating-sphere diffused reflection mode and processed with different spectra pretreated methods. Discriminant analysis (DA) and discriminant partial least squares (DPLS) were applied to classify the geographical origins of those samples, and the latter had a better predictive ability with 100% accuracy after two exceptional samples eliminated from the calibration set. For the quantitative calibration, the samples were divided into calibration set and validation set by Kennard-Stone algorithm. The models of baicalin, wogonoside, baicalein, wogonin were established with partial least squares (PLS) algorithm and the optimal principal component (PC) numbers were selected with Leave-One-Out (LOO) cross-validation. The established models were evaluated with the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) and corresponding correlation coefficients. The correlation coefficients of all the four calibration models are above 0.920, and the RMSEPs of baicalin, wogonoside, baicalein and wogonin are 0.752%, 0.094%, 0.418% and 0.139%, respectively. This research indicated that the NIR diffuse reflection spectroscopy could be used for the rapid analysis of R. scutellariae, which is beneficial to the quality control of this raw material in TCM pharmaceutical factory, and will also help to solve analogous problems.     

Studies on principal components and antioxidant activity of different Radix Astragali samples using high-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry

The principal components, isoflavonoids and astragalosides, in the extract of Radix Astragali were detected by a high-performance liquid chromatography couple to electrospray ionization ion trap multiple-stage tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-IT-MSⁿ) method. By comparing the retention time (t_R) of HPLC, the ESI-MSⁿ data and the structures of analyzed compounds with the data of reference compounds and in the literature, 17 isoflavonoids and 12 astragalosides have been identified or tentatively deduced. By virtue of the extracted ion chromatogram (EIC) mode, simultaneous determination of isoflavonoids and astragalosides could be achieved when the different components formed overlapped peaks. And this method has been utilized to analyze the constituents in extracts of Radix Astragali from Helong City and of different growth years. Then the antioxidant activity of different samples has been successfully investigated by HPLC-ESI-MS method in multiple selected ion monitoring (MIM) mode, applying the spin trapping technology, and the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) assay was applied to support the result. The correlations of the isoflavonoids and astragalosides components and the antioxidant activities of Radix Astragali were summarized. The present paper demonstrates that HPLC-ESI-MSⁿ is a powerful method for the characterization of the principal components and evaluation of the antioxidant activity of Chinese medicinal herbs.     

Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide/ethanol/water systems as mobie phase in reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography. Study of metal-diethyldithiocarbamate complexes retention

Summary This paper presents the, chromatographic retention of Co(II), Ni(II) and Cu(II) as diethyldithiocarbamate complexes in the presence of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide/ethanol/water systems, as mobile phase, by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography. The presence of an organic modifier reduces the retention times and improves the efficiency. In order to evaluate the interaction between the metal complexes and the mixed micellar system the values of solute binding constants are calculated in, two ways: a) Arunyanart and Cline-Love's treatment and b) multiple regression analysis taking account of the ethanol percentages.     

Qualitative and quantitative determination of the major coumarins in Zushima by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector and mass spectrometry

A method, high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array and electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS), was developed to qualitatively identify and quantitatively determine the 10 major active coumarins of Zushima. The analysis was performed by using a ZORBAX SB-C18 analytical column (250 mm x 4.6 mm ID, 5 microm) at gradient elution of 0.5% aqueous formic acid and acetonitrile with diode array detection (325 nm). The method was validated for linearity, precision, accuracy, limit of detection and quantification. The proposed method was successfully applied for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of 10 coumarins in five different species of Zushima which had great variation on the contents of investigated coumarins.     

Analysis of four alkaloids of Coptis chinensis in rat plasma by high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection

A sensitive and precise high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-electrochemical detection (ECD) method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of four isoquinoline alkaloids including berberine, jatrorrhizine, coptisine and palmatine in Chinese medicine Coptis chinensis. The typical HPLC analysis was performed on WondaSil^® C18-WR column (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) with the mobile phase comprising 40 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0)–acetonitrile (40:60, v/v) at the flow rate of 0.8 mL min⁻¹. The electrochemical detection employed a three electrode system with a bare glassy carbon electrode at +1.3 V versus the Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The limits of detection (LODs) of four alkaloids ranged from 0.01 to 0.03 μmol L⁻¹ and the LOD of berberine was 80 times lower than LOD obtained by UV detection. The rat plasma samples were assayed after oral administration of the traditional Chinese medicine Coptis chinensis by the proposed HPLC-ECD method. The recoveries of this method were ranging from 88.0 to 116%, with the relative standard deviation lower than 3.1% for intra-day precision and 5.7% for inter-day precision. These results show that HPLC-ECD is a useful tool for the quality control of herbal medicine Coptis chinensis and also for pharmacokinetic studies.     

保留时间两点校正反相高效液相色谱法测定持久性有机污染物的正辛醇-水分配系数

采用改进的反相高效液相色谱法(RP-HPLC)测定了持久性有机污染物(POPs)包括多环芳烃(PAHs)、多氯二苯并二恶英(PCDDs)、多氯二苯并呋喃(PCDFs)和十溴二苯乙烷(DBDPE)等的正辛醇-水分配系数(logKow)。采用保留时间双点校正法(DP-RTC)校正因色谱柱老化等引起的保留时间漂移。以37种有可靠logKow实验值的苯系物、PAHs、PCDD/Fs类似物为模型化合物,建立了logKow和外推至纯水相的保留因子logkw的定量结构-色谱保留关系(QSRR)模型,回归方程为logKow=(1.18±0.02)logkw+(0.36±0.11),其相关系数(R2)为0.985,交叉验证相关系数(R2cv)为0.983,标准偏差(SD)为0.16。进而,用4个已有可靠logKow实验值的验证化合物(联苯、芴、PCDD 1和PCDF 114)对模型进行了外部验证,表明RP-HPLC测得的logKow值与摇瓶法/慢搅法结果有很好的一致性,尤其是对疏水性强的化合物。采用该模型测定了29种特别受关注的POPs的logKow值,这些化合物的logKow实验值均未见报道。所建立的DP-RTC-HPLC是测定强疏水性POPs的logKow值的一种值得推荐的方法。     

Determination of puerarin and daidzein in Puerariae radix and its medicinal preparations by micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography with electrochemical detection

The use of micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography (MECC) with electrochemical detection is described for the determination of puerarin and daidzein in Puerariae radix and its medicinal preparations. Operated in a wall-jet configuration, a 300 μm diameter carbon-disk electrode was used as the working electrode, which exhibits good responses at +900 mV (versus SCE) for the two analytes. Under the optimum conditions, the analytes were base-line separated within 11 min in a sodium dodecyl sulphate—borax (pH 7.8) running buffer, and excellent linearity was obtained in the concentration range from 5.0×10⁻⁴ to 5.0×10⁻⁶ mol/l. The detection limit (S/N=3) was 6×10⁻⁷ and 1.1×10⁻⁶ mol/l for puerarin and daidzein, respectively. This work provides a useful method for the analysis of traditional Chinese medicines.     

Prediction of experimental parameters in combined isocratic and gradient elution reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) using acetonitrile as organic modifier

The use of gradient elution in RP-HPLC is increasing. Aqueous buffers, such as phosphate at pH 1.7, with acetonitrile as the organic modifier are particularly advantageous as eluents with linear elution strength (LES). In the isocratic mode, under the experimental conditions used, fairly good linearity exists between logk' and x_B (x${}_{\text{B}}^{\text{º}}$ is the volume ratio of the organic modifier, i.e. acetonitrile) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9995. The relationship between isocratic and gradient elution parameters, such as x_B, x${}_{\text{B}}^{\text{º}}$ (starting composition in gradient elution), m (slope of the linear gradient), is transparent and the parameters of interest can be predicted fairly accurately using simple equations. The proposed system could be used in elaboration of a general retention index system for organic molecules in RP-HPLC.     

Novel approaches in analysis of Fusarium mycotoxins in cereals employing ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry

Rapid, simple and cost-effective analytical methods with performance characteristics matching regulatory requirements are needed for effective control of occurrence of Fusarium toxins in cereals and cereal-based products to which they might be transferred during processing. Within this study, two alternative approaches enabling retrospective data analysis and identification of unknown signals in sample extracts have been implemented and validated for determination of 11 major Fusarium toxins. In both cases, ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (U-HPLC) coupled with high resolution mass spectrometry (HR MS) was employed. ¹³C isotopically labeled surrogates as well as matrix-matched standards were employed for quantification. As far as time of flight mass analyzer (TOF-MS) was a detection tool, the use of modified QuEChERS (quick easy cheap effective rugged and safe) sample preparation procedure, widely employed in multi-pesticides residue analysis, was shown as an optimal approach to obtain low detection limits. The second challenging alternative, enabling direct analysis of crude extract, was the use of mass analyzer based on Orbitrap technology. In addition to demonstration of full compliance of the new methods with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 401/2006, also their potential to be used for confirmatory purposes according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC has been critically assessed.     

Simultaneous determination of fangchinoline and tetrandrine in Stephania tetrandra S. Moore by using 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids as the RP-HPLC mobile phase additives

A reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) method for simultaneous determination of fangchinoline (FAN) and tetrandrine (TET) in Stephania tetrandra S. Moore was established by using 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as the mobile phase additives in this paper. Four types of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium-based ionic liquids (ILs) were used as additives of the mobile phase to separate FAN and TET by RP-HPLC. The effects of the length of the alkyl group on the imidazolium ring and its counterion, the concentrations of IL and the pH of the mobile phase, which influenced the chromatographic behaviors of FAN and TET, were investigated in detail. The linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and repeatability of the proposed method were also investigated. The probable mechanism of the separation with ILs as the mobile phase additives was explored and discussed.     

Qualitative and quantitative high performance thin layer chromatography analysis of Calendula officinalis using high resolution plate imaging and artificial neural network data modelling

Calendula officinalis, commonly known Marigold, has been traditionally used for its anti-inflammatory effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the capacity of an artificial neural network (ANN) to analyse thin layer chromatography (TLC) chromatograms as fingerprint patterns for quantitative estimation of chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and rutin in Calendula plant extracts.     

高效液相色谱法同时检测乳制品中3种β-内酰胺酶抑制剂的残留量

建立了乳制品中3种β-内酰胺酶抑制剂克拉维酸钾、他唑巴坦和舒巴坦的提取和固相萃取净化方法。样品经水溶后,用丙酮沉淀蛋白质。上清液在弱酸性条件下用PWAX固相萃取小柱(60 mg/3 mL)富集、净化,0.05%(如无特殊说明均为体积分数)氨水-甲醇溶液洗脱。然后采用高效液相色谱-二极管阵列检测器(HPLC-PAD)分离检测。分析柱为资生堂CAPCELL PAK MG-C18(150 mm×4.6 mm,5μm);流动相为0.03%磷酸-乙腈。该方法对克拉维酸钾、他唑巴坦和舒巴坦的最低检测质量浓度均为0.03 mg/L;纯牛奶、酸奶和奶粉中的回收率在84.6%~101.7%之间,RSD在2.2%~7.4%之间(n=6);在0.05~5 mg/L范围内均呈良好的线性关系,线性回归系数r>0.999。该方法的前处理净化效果好、检测灵敏度高、回收率和重现性良好,适用于乳制品中β-内酰胺酶抑制剂的测定。     

Determination of daphnetin in Daphne tangutica and its medicinal preparation by liquid chromatography

A liquid chromatographic (LC) technique coupled with photodiode array (PDA) detection was developed for determining daphnetin in extracts of Daphne tangutica and its medicinal preparation. The optimized method was achieved for the separation and detection of selected constituent using methanol-0.5% phosphonic acid as the mobile phase at a flow rate of 0.8 mL min⁻¹, and 325 nm as the detection wavelength. Daphnetin showed good linearity in a relatively wide concentration range (r > 0.999). Intra- and inter-assay accuracy and precision were all lower than 5.0%. Sample extracting and purifying procedures were intensively explored. The recovery of the method was 94.8%-105.0% with a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 4.0%. The concentration of daphnetin in D. tangutica from different locations and in its medicinal preparation manufactured by different factories was quite different. The current method may serve as a valuable tool for quality control of D. tangutica and its preparation.