Quality evaluation for Ficus hirta Vahl granules, using TLC and HPLC fingerprint combined with chemical pattern recognition

Ficus hirta Vahl is a healthy food with both medicinal and culinary properties and with anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects. There is currently no standardized or universally accepted research strategy for evaluating the quality of Ficus hirta Vahl granules (FHGs). Therefore, the development of a comprehensive quality evaluation method is crucial for the quality control of FHGs. In this study, we used n-hexane : trichloromethane : ethyl acetate : glacial acetic acid = 20 : 4 : 7 : 1 as the optimal developing agent for TLC to separate and identify 15 batches of FHGs from different origins. Using HPLC, a fingerprint with 7 common peaks was established, and peaks 6 and 7 were attributed to psoralen and bergapten, respectively. The content of the identified components was determined. Further quality evaluation of FHGs was performed using chemical pattern recognition, and the results showed that hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) could cluster 15 batches of FHGs into 2 categories. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that 2 principal components can show the similarities and differences between different batches of FHGs. Orthogonal partial least squares discrimination (OPLS-DA) showed that components 5, 6 (psoralen) and 7 (bergapten) are landmark components that cause differences in FHG quality from different regions. By integrating the analytical modes of TLC, HPLC fingerprint and chemical pattern recognition, a scientific basis is provided for the comprehensive control and evaluation of herbal medicine quality.

Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Lavandula coronopifolia Poir Extracts: A Comparison between Callus Culture and Native Plant

Nowadays, according to the development and high functions of in vitro cultivation, one of the questions that researchers are looking for is whether the characteristics and compositions of the obtained product meet the needs of the society or not. Therefore, this research was done aimed to compare the bioactive characteristics of callus and native plant aqueous extracts of Lavandula coronopifolia Poir. Thus, two different culture media were utilized for calluses’ growth. Extracts from these calluses and native plants were obtained using the sequential ultrasound-microwave assisted extraction (SUMAE) method. The extraction conditions were a constant temperature of 70°C ultrasound in 20 min at 250 W and 8 minutes at 800 W for microwave at 85°C. At first, results revealed that callus cultures were not able to produce any significant amounts of essential oil. Therefore, aqueous extracts obtained from calluses as well as the natural plant were examined in terms of antioxidant activity, total phenolic content, total flavonoid content, and antimicrobial activity. Moreover, their volatile components were detected with GC-MS. Both DPPH and FRAP techniques demonstrated that the callus on MS + Auxin had stronger antioxidant activity than the other callus and native plant. It also had the greatest total phenolic content. In terms of total flavonoid content, the native plant has the highest value. Generally, it can be concluded that the extract of callus on MS + Auxin has shown significant activity against the tested microorganisms than the other samples.