The Crystalline Changes of Starch from Rhizoma Dioscorea by Acid Hydrolysis

Dioscoreae (Chinese name Shanyao), the rhizome of various species of genus Dioscorea opposita Thunb.(Dioscoreaceae), has been used as an important invigorant in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for many years1. Starch, the most abundant carbohydrate in …     

HPLC determination of ferulic acid in rat plasma after oral administration of Rhizoma Chuanxiong and its compound preparation

An HPLC method is described for determination of ferulic acid in rat plasma. The concentration of ferulic acid in rat plasma was determined after deproteinization with acetonitrile using sulfamethoxazole as internal standard. Chromatographic separations were performed on a C(18) stationary phase with a mobile phase composed of acetonitrile-water (16:84, v/v) with 1% glacial acetic acid. The UV detection wavelength was set at 320 nm. The method was successfully applied to the determination of pharmacokinetic parameters in rat plasma after oral administration of Rhizoma Chuanxiong and and its compound preparation Suanzaoren decoctions. The calibration curve was linear over the range 0.0510-4.08 micro g/mL in rat plasma. Within-day and between-day precisions were less than 4.5% RSD. Mean recovery was determined as 96.9%. The limit of quantitation was 0.0510 micro g/mL. The pharmacokinetic parameters of the two preparations were different significantly (p < 0.05), which may attribute to the effects of other ingredients present in Suanzaoren decoction.     

The Extracts of Polygonum cuspidatum Root and Rhizome Block the Entry of SARS-CoV-2 Wild-Type and Omicron Pseudotyped Viruses via Inhibition of the S-Protein and 3CL Protease

COVID-19, resulting from infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, caused a contagious pandemic. Even with the current vaccines, there is still an urgent need to develop effective pharmacological treatments against this deadly disease. Here, we show that the water and ethanol extracts of the root and rhizome of Polygonum cuspidatum (Polygoni Cuspidati Rhizoma et Radix), a common Chinese herbal medicine, blocked the entry of wild-type and the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 pseudotyped virus into fibroblasts or zebrafish larvae, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 0.015 to 0.04 mg/mL. The extracts were shown to inhibit various aspects of the pseudovirus entry, including the interaction between the spike protein (S-protein) and the angiotensin-converting enzyme II (ACE2) receptor, and the 3CL protease activity. Out of the chemical compounds tested in this report, gallic acid, a phytochemical in P. cuspidatum, was shown to have a significant anti-viral effect. Therefore, this might be responsible, at least in part, for the anti-viral efficacy of the herbal extract. Together, our data suggest that the extracts of P. cuspidatum inhibit the entry of wild-type and the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, and so they could be considered as potent treatments against COVID-19.     

Identification and Simultaneous Determination of Mangiferin,Neomangiferin, Timosaponin A-III,and Timosaponin C in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae by Rapid Resolution Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Triple Quadrupole Mass Spectrometry

A new and rapid method was developed for simultaneous determination of mangiferin, neomangiferin, timosaponin A-III, and C in Rhizoma Anemarrhenae using rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The analysis was performed on an Eclipse Plus C₁₈ column (I.D. 4.6 × 100 mm, 3.5 μm). Electrospray ionization–tandem interface in the negative mode was employed prior to mass spectrometric detection. Quantitation was based on multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) for determination. Limits of detection (LODs) ranged from 0.7 to 3 pg. The average recoveries ranged from 98.16 to 100.7% with RSDs ≤ 2.03%. The established method was validated, sensitive, and reliable.     

Solvent terminated natural deep eutectic solvent microextraction for concentration of curcuminoids in Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and turmeric tea

A novel solvent terminated microextraction method based on a natural deep eutectic solvent (L-menthol and lactic acid at a molar ratio of 1:2) coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography was proposed, which was utilized for the separation and enrichment of bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin and curcumin in Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and turmeric tea. The effects of independent parameters on extraction efficiency were optimized by single-factor analysis. Subsequently, four predominated parameters affecting the extraction procedure, including extractant volume, salt concentration, demulsifier consumption, and demulsification time, were further evaluated by a central composite design. Under the optimized conditions, the linear ranges of calibration curves were 0.005–0.5 μg/mL for bisdemethoxycurcumin, 0.004–0.4 μg/mL for demethoxycurcumin, and 0.0045–0.45 μg/mL for curcumin, respectively. In addition, the developed method provided low detection limits (0.1–0.4 ng/mL) and high enrichment factors (279–350). Its intra-day and inter-day precision were carried out by relative standard deviation ranging from 2.2 to 9.2%. Finally, the applicability of this method was assessed by the analysis of Curcumae Longae Rhizoma and turmeric tea samples. The results showed that these samples were detected successfully and the spiked recoveries over the range of 85.3-108.9% with relative standard deviations of 1.6-8.9% were attained, indicating its high relative recoveries with good precision in real sample analysis.     

Simultaneous determination of 20 bioactive components in Chuanxiong Rhizoma from different production origins in Sichuan province by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry combined with multivariate statistical analysis

Chuanxiong Rhizoma is a commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine. Chuanxiong Rhizoma is widely distributed in Sichuan province, China, including the cities of Dujiangyan, Pengzhou, Meishan, Qionglai, and Shifang. However, reports on the comparisons of quality of Chuanxiong Rhizoma of different production origins are limited. Therefore, an ultra-HPLC with triple quadrupole MS method was developed for the determination of 20 bioactive components (12 aromatic acids and eight phthalides) in 36 samples from different production origins and further assessed its quality. The contents of these 20 constituents of samples were analyzed by hierarchical cluster analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis; the result indicated that Chuanxiong Rhizoma of different production origins had some differences. Thirteen constituents of quality difference markers were acquired by variable importance for the project. Furthermore, the sum of the contents of these quality difference markers was different from various production origins of Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Meanwhile, Z-ligustilide and senkyunolide A as main constituents of quality difference markers, the rate of various production origins of Chuanxiong Rhizoma was different. This study provides a foundation for the quality assessment of Chuanxiong Rhizoma.     

紫外分光光度法测定川芎中内酯的总量

建立中药川芎中总内酯的测定方法. 采用紫外分光光度法, 以瑟丹酸内酯为对照品, 在一定条件下吸光度和瑟丹酸内酯的浓度呈良好的线性关系. 该方法可作为川芎中总内酯的半定量质量控制方法.     

黄连与甘草化学成分的相互作用研究之一——混浊汤剂中沉淀部分的成分研究

以黄连与甘草为配伍组成的复方是一种沉淀性配伍, 它属于仲景古方系列之一。其汤剂呈混浊状, 分别对离心分离后的溶液与沉淀物的成分进行研究。运用高效液相色谱(HPLC)、傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)和飞行时间质谱(TOF-MS)的方法, 对单煎黄连、单煎甘草和混煎黄连与甘草的溶液和沉淀物的结构组成进行研究。文章着重报道沉淀物成分的研究, 同时还将混煎沉淀物和溶液的谱学行为做了比较。结果发现, 在混煎黄连与甘草的沉淀物中, 黄连的有些化学成分被保留下来, 有些成分却被抑制了;而甘草的化学成分基本都消失了;同时在混煎黄连与甘草的沉淀物中还产生了在单煎黄连与单煎甘草中所没有的一些新物质。此结果说明黄连与甘草在混煎后其沉淀物的结构组成发生了变化, 这是由于在此复方中发生了甘草与黄连化学成分的相互作用所致。根据飞行时间质谱的数据, 推测黄连与甘草发生的化学反应可能有加成反应、分解反应和缔合反应等类型。它表明甘草在此复方中起到了极为重要的作用。通过混煎沉淀物与溶液的研究结果比较还表明, 在沉淀物中可能含有比溶液中更多的化学活性成分,它为古方的药用和疗效提供了一定科学依据。     

中药白茅根中金属元素的含量测定

火焰原子吸收光谱法测定中草药白茅根茎部的Fe、Cu、Zn、Mn、Ca、Mg,方法简单、精密度好、回收率在92.0%-104.4%之间,相对标准偏差(RSD)小于1.8%,结果令人满意.     

淮山药及其种植土壤中微量元素的测定

用等离子体原子发射光谱(ICP-AES)测定了淮山药根茎及其种植土壤中的微量元素。结果表明,淮山药中含有丰富的人体必需微量元素,为淮山药产品的研究和开发提供重要的依据,也为进一步开发淮山药优良品种和平衡施肥提供科学信息和依据。