Pseudotargeted screening and determination of constituents in Qishen granule based on compound biosynthetic correlation using UHPLC coupled with high‐resolution MS

Detection and determination of many known/unknown compounds in traditional Chinese medicines have always been challenging. To comprehensively identify compounds in Qishen granule, which is a widely prescribed herbal formula for treating chronic heart failure, a pseudotargeted screening method was proposed based on compound biosynthetic correlation using ultra high‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with high‐resolution mass spectrometry. Firstly, all possible compounds of Qishen granule were classified into nine types according to their core skeletons, and potential analogue molecular formulas were predicted according to core compound‐related biosynthetic correlations, such as methylation, hydroxylation, and glucosidation. Secondly, nine pseudocompound databases consisting of core compounds, deduced biosynthetic correlations, and predicted analogue molecular formulas were established. Then, compounds of interest were directly located by pseudotargeted screening of high resolution mass spectrometry data and further verified by target tandem mass spectrometry. As a result, 213 constituents were identified and 21 of them were determined as potential new compounds. This demonstrated that pseudotargeted screening based on compound biosynthetic correlations significantly facilitated the processing of extremely large information data and improved the efficiency of compound identification. This research provided essential data for exploration of effective substances in Qishen granule and enriched the methodology for comprehensive characterization of constituents in complex traditional Chinese medicines.     

Comprehensive separation of iridoid glycosides and triterpenoid saponins from Dipsacus asper with salt‐containing solvent by high‐speed countercurrent chromatography coupled with recycling mode

The roots of Dipsacus asper Wall as a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine are used for tonifying liver and kidney and strengthening bones and muscles. However, an effective separation strategy for comprehensive and rapid separation of the main active compounds from the roots of D. asper is nonexistent. This investigation provided an effective separation method based on AB‐8 macroporous resin column chromatography using different ratios of ethanol in water and two different modes of high‐speed countercurrent chromatography with salt‐containing solvent system for rapid enrichment and separation from the roots of D. asper. The macroporous resin column chromatography was performed on AB‐8 resin using ethanol in water ratios of 10, 30, 40, 50, and 80% as the optimized enrichment conditions for iridoid glycosides and triterpenoid saponins with different polarities. For high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation, the conventional and recycling modes were combined together to develop a strategy for 12 compounds ( 1 – 12 ) from the enriched parts of 30, 40, and 80% ethanol, including six high‐polarity iridoid glycosides ( 1 – 6 ) using inorganic salt‐containing solvent system and six triterpenoid saponins ( 7 – 12 ). Recycling high‐speed countercurrent chromatography separation was successfully applied to separate two isomers ( 9 and 10 ) after 11 cycles.     

Light Intensity and Photoperiod Affect Growth and Nutritional Quality of Brassica Microgreens

We explored the effects of different light intensities and photoperiods on the growth, nutritional quality and antioxidant properties of two Brassicaceae microgreens (cabbage Brassica oleracea L. and Chinese kale Brassica alboglabra Bailey). There were two experiments: (1) four photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) of 30, 50, 70 or 90 μmoL·m⁻²·s⁻¹ with red:blue:green = 1:1:1 light-emitting diodes (LEDs); (2) five photoperiods of 12, 14, 16, 18 or 20 h·d⁻¹. With the increase of light intensity, the hypocotyl length of cabbage and Chinese kale microgreens shortened. PPFD of 90 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ was beneficial to improve the nutritional quality of cabbage microgreens, which had higher contents of chlorophyll, carotenoids, soluble sugar, soluble protein and vitamin C, as well as increased antioxidant capacity. The optimal PPFD for Chinese kale microgreens was 70 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹. Increasing light intensity could increase the antioxidant capacity of cabbage and Chinese kale microgreens, while not significantly affecting glucosinolate (GS) content. The dry and fresh weight of cabbage and Chinese kale microgreens were maximized with a 14-h·d⁻¹ photoperiod. The chlorophyll, carotenoid and soluble protein content in cabbage and Chinese kale microgreens were highest for a 16-h·d⁻¹ photoperiod. The lowest total GS content was found in cabbage microgreens under a 12-h·d⁻¹ photoperiod and in Chinese kale microgreens under 16-h·d⁻¹ photoperiod. In conclusion, the photoperiod of 14~16 h·d⁻¹, and 90 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ and 70 μmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹ PPFD for cabbage and Chinese kale microgreens, respectively, were optimal for cultivation.     

Structure and Processing Properties of Nine Yam (Dioscorea opposita Thunb) Starches from South China: A Comparison Study

In order to explore the processing and application potential of Chinese yam starch, nine kinds of Chinese yam starch (GY11, GY5, GY2, GXPY, LCY, SFY, MPY, SYPY, ASY) from South China were collected and characterized. The chemical composition, rheological properties, thermal properties, and in vitro starch digestion were compared, and the correlation between the structure and processing properties of these yam starches was analyzed using Pearson correlation. The results show that GY2 had the highest amylose content of 28.70%. All the yam starches were similarly elliptical, and all the yam starch gels showed pseudoplastic behavior. Yam starches showed similar pasting temperatures and resistant starch content, but SYPY showed the largest particle size (28.4 μm), SFY showed the highest setback (2712.33 cp), and LCY showed the highest peak viscosity (6145.67 cp) and breakdown (2672.33 cp). In addition, these yam starches also showed different crystal types (A-type, B-type, C-type), relative crystallinity (26.54–31.48%), the ratios of 1045/1022 cm⁻¹ (0.836–1.213), pasting properties, and rheological properties, so the yam starches have different application potentials. The rheological and pasting properties were related to the structural properties of starch, such as DI, Mw, and particle size, and were also closely related to the thermodynamic properties. The appropriate processing methods and purposes of the processed products of these yam starches can be selected according to their characteristics.     

A biochemometrics strategy combining quantitative determination,bioactivity evaluation and relationship analysis for identification of analgesic alkaloids of raw and vinegar‐processed Corydalis turtschaninovii

A biochemometrics strategy combining quantitative determination, bioactivity evaluation, and relationship analysis was proposed for identification of analgesic components of herbs. First, a robust liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for simultaneous determination of nine major alkaloids in crude and vinegar‐processed Corydalis turtschaninovii. Nine alkaloids were separated on a BEH C₁₈ column with a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and water spiked with 0.1% formic acid and then detected by multiple reactions monitoring in the positive ion mode. Nitidine chloride was employed as the internal standard. The method displayed good linearity and the precisions of intra‐day and inter‐day were all within 3.0%. The recovery rates of each alkaloid ranged from 97.1 to 102.9%. The method was successfully applied for quantitative analysis of nine alkaloids in ten batches of crude and vinegar‐processed Corydalis turtschaninovii. Second, the analgesic effects of crude and vinegar‐processed Corydalis turtschaninovii were evaluated in mice. Third, principle component analysis, canonical correlation analysis, and partial least squares regression were used to analysis the relationship between the contents of nine major alkaloids and the analgesic effect of different crude and vinegar‐processed samples. Tetrahydropalmatine, coptisine, and dehydrocorydaline have a close positive correlation with the analgesic effect.     

固定化脂质体色谱研究中药复方的细胞膜通透性成分及其质量控制

提出了固定化脂质体色谱(immobilized liposome chromatography,ILC)研究中药复方的细胞膜通透性成分及其质量控制的方法。以当归补血汤及其组分为例,考察了它们在ILC色谱柱上的分离效果;当归补血汤水提取液和75％乙醇提取液在ILC色谱柱上各有8个保留峰,当归水提取液、甲醇提取液和75％乙醇提取液在ILC色谱柱上分别有3、6、9个保留峰,黄芪水提取液、甲醇提取液和75％乙醇提取液在ILC色谱柱上各有7个保留峰;建立了当归补血汤及其组分中阿魏酸和蒿本内酯的定量分析方法,当归补血汤水提取液和75％乙醇提取液中阿魏酸的含量分别为0．0743％和0．0688％,蒿本内酯的含量分别为0．0472％和0．457％,当归水提取液和75％乙醇提取液中阿魏酸的含量分别为0．0694％和0．0691％,蒿本内酯的含量分别为0．0781％和0．455％。     

梯度加压毛细管电色谱同时分离大黄提取液中5种蒽醌类化合物

建立了同时分离药用大黄提取液中大黄酸、芦荟大黄素、大黄素、大黄酚和大黄素甲醚5种蒽醌类活性成分的梯度加压毛细管电色谱的新方法.实验结果显示,大黄提取液中的5种蒽醌化合物可在22min内完全分离,梯度洗脱微柱液相色谱的柱效为等度洗脱微柱液相色谱的6.63倍,梯度毛细管电色谱的柱效为梯度微柱液相色谱的4.6倍.     

中药复杂组效关系的变结构神经网络辨识方法

针对中药复杂组效关系的辨识问题,研究了变结构多层前馈神经网络,推导出一种新型的变结构网络学习算法,成功地应用于中药川芎药效活性预测计算.该方法从一个规模较小的网络出发,当网络无法达到预定的学习精度时,自动增加隐含层神经元个数,并在原有学习结果的基础上确定新的网络参数,自适应地确定前馈神经网络结构,可用于处理复杂化学模式信息.计算机仿真实验结果表明,该方法能有效地确定多层前馈神经网络的最佳结构,提高网络学习效率和函数逼近精度,解决复杂非线性函数映射关系准确建模问题.     

12种道地中药中无机元素的含量测定

报道了用Ｘ射线荧光分析法测定的１２种道地中药，９８个不同产地样品中的Ｆｅ、Ｃｕ、Ｚｎ、Ｍｎ、Ｓｒ、Ｃａ、Ｋ含量。结果表明，不同种属，不同产地，不同品种中药元素量存在差异，不同加工方法影响中药中元素含量，同种中药中元素分布模式也不同。     

氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱法测定中草药中的微量铅

采用水煎煮法提取中草药,HNO3-H2O2密闭消解体系消解样品,应用氢化物发生-原子荧光光谱法测定中草药及其提取液中的微量铅;优化了仪器工作及实验条件,荧光强度与Pb质量浓度在0.49～400 μg/L范围内呈线性关系,相关系数:0.9996,检出限:0.49 μg/L;发现部分提取液中Pb量比原中草药样品中Pb量有明显降低.