Comparative analysis of the main bioactive components of Xin‐Sheng‐Hua granule and its single herbs by ultrahigh performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

Xin‐Sheng‐Hua granule, a representative formula for postpartum hemorrhage, has been used clinically to treat postpartum diseases. Its main bioactive components comprise aromatic acids, phthalides, alkaloids, flavonoids, and gingerols among others. To investigate the changes in main bioactive constituents in its seven single herbs before and after compatibility, a rapid, simple, and sensitive method was developed for comparative analysis of 27 main bioactive components by using ultrahigh‐performance liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole electrospray tandem mass spectrometry for the first time. The sufficient separation of 27 target constituents was achieved on a Thermo Scientific Hypersil GOLD column (100 mm × 3 mm, 1.9 μm) within 20 min under the optimized chromatographic conditions. Compared with the theoretical content, the observed content of each analyte showed remarkable differences in Xin‐Sheng‐Hua granule except thymine, p‐coumaric acid, senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, and ligustilide; the total contents of 27 components increased significantly, and the content variation degrees for the different components were gingerols > flavonoids > aromatic acids > alkaloids > phthalides. The results could provide a good reference for the quality control of Xin‐Sheng‐Hua granule and might be helpful to interpret the drug interactions based on variation of bioactive components in formulae.     

Separation and determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in Ephedrae Herba by CZE modified with a Cu(II)-L-lysine complex

A CZE method using a complex of 2.5 mM Cu(II)-L-lysine (molar ratio is 1:2) as additive in a run buffer solution composed of Tris-H(3)PO(4) (pH 4.5) was developed for the simultaneous determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine within 4 min. The effects of pH, composition, and concentration of run buffer as well as the composition and concentration of the Cu(II)-L-lysine complex on the separation were investigated. The linear ranges for the determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine were 15.0-225.0 and 20.0-250.0 mg/L with LODs both of 5.0 mg/L. Satisfactory result for the determination of ephedrine and pseudoephedrine in Ephedrae Herba from different producing area was obtained by the proposed method. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine were separated effectively with each other and with the other compounds in the sample. The RSD for the determination of the two constituents in the samples varied from 1.82 to 2.76%, and the recovery ranged between 95.0 and 104.0%.     

Hypoglycemic and Antioxidant Properties of Extracts and Fractions from Polygoni Avicularis Herba

Our research focused on the hypoglycemic capability and the possible mechanisms of extract and fractions from Polygoni Avicularis Herba (PAH) based on α-glucosidase, α-amylase inhibition assays, glucose uptake experiment, HPLC-MS analysis, and molecular docking experiment. In addition, DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP assays were used for determining the antioxidant capability. The results of total flavonoids and phenolics contents showed that ethyl acetate fraction (EAF) possessed the highest flavonoids and phenolics with values of 159.7 ± 2.5 mg rutin equivalents/g and 107.6 ± 2.0 mg galic acid equivalents/g, respectively. The results of in vitro hypoglycemic activity showed that all samples had effective α-glucosidase inhibition capacities, and EAF possessed the best inhibitory effect with IC₅₀ value of 1.58 ± 0.24 μg/mL. In addition, n-butanol fraction (NBF) significantly promoted the glucose uptake rate of 3T3-L1 adipocytes. HPLC-MS analysis and molecular docking results proved the interactions between candidates and α-glucosidase. The results of antioxidation capacities showed that EAF possessed the best antioxidation abilities with DPPH, ABTS, and FRAP. In summary, the hypoglycemic activity of PAH might be related to the inhibition of α-glucosidase (EAF > PEF > NBF) and the promotion of glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 adipocytes (NBF). Simultaneously, the antioxidation capacity of PAH might be related to the abundant contents of flavonoids and other phenolics (EAF > PEF > NBF).     

鸡骨草微量元素含量的测定

用电感耦合等离子体发射光谱仪测定了湛江人工栽培的鸡骨草中微量元素含量,发现其钙、镁、铁、锌等元素的含量都较丰富,并讨论了这些有益元素与人体健康的关系。     

Simultaneous determination of seven phenylethanoid glycosides in Cistanches Herba by a single marker using a new calculation of relative correction factor

Current quantitative analysis of multi‐components by a single marker is usually performed by using liquid chromatography methods coupled with ultraviolet or mass spectrometry detection to afford the relative correction factors between reference standard and other components. However, low durability of the relative correction factors caused by different chromatographic system leading this approach lacking a high accuracy. In the present study, a simple but effective method was established by employing the absorption coefficient () to calculate the relative correction factors instead of peak area or height. The absorption coefficient, a fundamental constant of physics, has been widely used for qualitative and quantitative analysis in Pharmacopoeia all over the world. According to the absorbance coefficient ratio between echinacoside and other compounds, the content of seven phenylethanoid glycosides in Cistanche deserticola and Cistanches tubulosa were determined simultaneously. The low standard method difference on quantitative measurement of seven compounds in Cistanches Herba between our method and the external standard method proved the consistency of the two methods. Using an ultra high performance liquid system, these seven bioactive phenylethanoid glycosides were baseline separated in 8 min. All the data suggested that the method was accurate and reliable for the determination of multi‐components when authentic standard substances were unavailable.     

Simultaneous quantification of 25 active constituents in the total flavonoids extract from Herba Desmodii Styracifolii by high‐performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry

A sensitive and selective high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 25 active constituents, including 21 flavonoids and four phenolic acids in the total flavonoids extract from Herba Desmodii Styracifolii for the first time. Among the 25 compounds, seven compounds including caffeic acid, acacetin, genistein, genistin, diosmetin, diosmin and hesperidin were identified and quantified for the first time in Herba Desmodii Styracifolii. Chromatographic separation was accomplished on a ZORBAX SB‐C₁₈ (250 mm×4.6 mm, 5.0 μm) column using gradient elution of methanol and 0.1‰ acetic acid v/v at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The identification and quantification of the analytes were achieved using negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry in multiple‐reaction monitoring mode. The method was fully validated in terms of limits of detection and quantification, linearity, precision and accuracy. The results indicated that the developed method is simple, rapid, specific and reliable. Furthermore, the developed method was successfully applied to quantify the 25 active components in six batches of total flavonoids extract from Herba Desmodii Styracifolii.     

离子色谱法测定麻黄中的无机阴离子

建立了用单柱阴离子色谱测定麻黄中阴离子的方法。采用Shim Pack IC AI阴离子交换柱、2.5 mmol/L 邻苯二甲酸和2.4 mmol/L 三羟甲基氨基甲烷混合溶液为流动相、电导检测器在10 min内完成麻黄草中F-,Cl-, NO-2,Br-,NO-3, SO 2- 4的测定。该法具有良好的线性（相关系数为 0.999 2 ～ 0.999 7 ）和重复性（相对标准偏差小于1.92%）,回收率为96.6%～100.4%。方法简便实用,用于实际样品分析,所得结果令人满意。     

反相高效液相色谱法分离测定墨旱莲中的鳢肠醛

对墨旱莲中的有效成分鳢肠醛进行了分离和结构鉴定,并对其含量进行了分析。色谱条件:Kromasil C18柱(200 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm),流动相为乙腈-0.1%磷酸水溶液(体积比为65∶35),流速为1.0 mL/min,柱温为30 ℃,检测波长为365 nm,进样量为10 μL。结果表明,鳢肠醛的峰面积与其质量浓度有良好的线性关系(r=0.9993)。方法的加样回收率为96.7%～100.0%。该方法简便、快速、准确,可作为墨旱莲质量控制的一个有效方法。     

麻黄与桂枝混合汤剂的红外光谱

测试了单味药麻黄、桂枝及麻黄+桂枝混合汤剂红外光谱,标示其吸收峰,并确认其归属。在麻黄+桂枝汤剂中保留了麻黄、桂枝单味药物汤剂中的某些成分,见麻黄+桂枝光谱1 205和1 074 cm-1处等;麻黄、桂枝光谱中的某些成分并未在麻黄+桂枝光谱中出现,见麻黄+桂枝光谱1 394和678 cm-1处等;在麻黄+桂枝汤剂光谱中,出现了新的吸收峰,见麻黄+桂枝光谱757和1 407 cm-1处等。同时,因吸收峰位置有所改变,说明各基团在麻黄、桂枝、麻黄+桂枝汤剂中所处的化学环境不同。在麻黄+桂枝汤剂中可能新生成了麻黄、桂枝单味药物汤剂中所没有的化学成分。麻黄+桂枝汤剂所包含的药物成分并非是单味麻黄、桂枝汤剂所含药物成分的简单相加。文章在研究麻黄+桂枝混合汤剂红外光谱的基础上提出了方剂光谱学的概念。     

HPLC法同时测定淫羊藿中朝藿定A、B、C与淫羊藿苷的含量

建立了同时测定淫羊藿中朝藿定A、B、C与淫羊藿苷含量的高效液相色谱方法。淫羊藿样品经超声波提取,以50%(φ)乙醇溶液为溶剂,在温度50℃、料液比1∶60条件下超声波提取30 m in,共提取2次。色谱条件:ZORBAX SB-C8色谱柱(5μm,4.6×250 mm);流动相A为乙腈,B为1%乙酸溶液;梯度洗脱;紫外检测波长为270 nm。上述4种类黄酮的标准曲线在6.6~33.0 mg/L(朝藿定A、淫羊藿苷)或6.6~55.0mg/L(朝藿定B、C)范围内呈良好的线性关系(r>0.99);加标回收率在97%~102%之间;相对标准偏差小于2%(n=5)。测得不同产地心叶淫羊藿叶片中4种类黄酮的质量分数差异较大;朝藿定A广泛分布于淫羊藿属中。本方法在淫羊藿药材质量控制中具有一定的参考价值。