[Determination of content of nine components in Xinnaojian preparations from different manufacturers by QAMS]

This study established the ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) fingerprint of Xinnaojian preparations. With epicatechin gallate as the internal reference substance, a quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS) method for determining the content of nine components(gallic acid, epigallocatechin, catechin, caffeine, epicatechin, epigallocatechin gallate, gallocatechin gallate, epicatechin gallate, and catechin gallate) in Xinnaojian preparations was established. The content determined by the external standard method(ESM) and QAMS method was compared to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of QAMS method. The results showed that the standard curves of nine components had good linear relationship within the test concentration ranges. The average recoveries were 87.57%-107.4%, and the RSD was 1.5%-2.9%. Except epigallocatechin, the other components showed good repeatability under different experimental conditions. Epigallocatechin could meet the requirements in the same instrument and at the same wavelength. The results generally showed no significant difference between QAMS and ESM. The content of 9 components varied between the samples from different manufacturers, while it showed no significant difference between the samples from the same manufacturer. In summary, the UPLC fingerprint combined with QAMS method is feasible and accurate for determining the content of the nine components, which can be used for rapid quality evaluation of Xinnaojian preparations.

[Chemical pattern recognition of Atractylodes chinensis from different producing areas and establishment of quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS) method for four components]

This study established the fingerprint and combined it with chemical pattern recognition to evaluate the quality of Atractylodes chinensis samples from different producing areas and then employed the quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS) method to verify the feasibility and applicability of the established method in the quality evaluation of A. chinensis. The fingerprints of A. chinensis samples were constructed via high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) to evaluate the inter-batch consistency. With the quality control component atractylodin as the internal reference, the relative correction factors(RCFs) were established for atractylenolide Ⅰ, atractylenolide Ⅲ, and β-eudesmol and the content of the four components was calculated. The external standard method was used to verify the accuracy of QAMS method. The quality of A. chinensis was further evaluated by similarity analysis, clustering analysis, and principal component analysis. The fingerprints of 13 batches of samples were calibrated with 21 common peaks, and 4 common peaks were identified with the similarities all above 0.9. The RCFs established with atractylodin as the internal reference represented good reproducibility under different experimental conditions. Specifically, the RCFs of atractylenolide Ⅰ, atractylenolide Ⅲ, and β-eudesmol in A. chinensis were 2.091, 4.253, and 6.010, respectively. QAMS and ESM showed no significant difference in the results, indicating that the QAMS method established in this study was stable and reliable. Thus, HPLC fingerprint combined with QAMS can be used for the quality evaluation of A. chinensis, providing a basis for comprehensive and rapid quality evaluation of A. chinensis.

[Quality evaluation of Psoraleae Fructus based on QAMS method and TLC identification]

The present study established a determination method of Psoraleae Fructus by quantitative analysis of multi-components by the single marker(QAMS) and further improved the thin-layer chromatography(TLC) method. The QAMS method was established by UPLC with psoralen as the internal marker, and the content of psoralenoside, isopsoralenoside, psoralen, and isopsoralen was simultaneously determined. As revealed by the comparison with results of the external standard method, the QAMS method was accurate and feasible. According to the current quality standards of Psoraleae Fructus, the TLC method was further optimized and improved, and bakuchiol was added for identification based on the original TLC method with psoralen and isopsoralen as indicators. This study provides a reference for improving the quality control method of Psoraleae Fructus.

[Quality evaluation of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma based on UPLC characteristic chromatogram and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS)]

Based on UPLC characteristic chromatogram and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS), the content of seven types of ginsenosides in Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma was simultaneously determined, and the quality of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma was evaluated by the principal component analysis(PCA). The chromatographic separation was performed on the Acquity UPLC BEH C_(18) column(2.1 mm×100 mm, 1.7 μm) with the mobile phase of acetonitrile-water for gradient elution at the flow rate of 0.3 mL·min~(-1), the column temperature of 30 ℃, the detection wavelength of 203 nm, and the injection volume of 2 μL. The UPLC chromatogram was established with 19 batches of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma samples from three producing areas by Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprint of Traditional Chinese Medicine(version 2012). Thirteen characteristic peaks were determined and seven components were identified. SPSS 26.0 was used to conduct PCA on the characteristic peak areas. With the peak of ginsenoside Rb_1 as reference peak S, ginsenoside Rb_1 showed good durability of relative correction factor as compared with other ginsenosides. The QAMS method for the determination of seven ginsenosides in Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma was established. There was no significant difference in results between the QAMS method and the external standard method. As revealed by the results of PCA and the determination of the total content of seven ginsenosides, the four batches of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma numbered S19, S18, S1, and S2 were of superior quality. The characteristic chromatogram and QAMS method for the determination of seven ginsenosides in this study were convenient and accurate, which greatly shortened the analysis time and improved the analysis efficiency. The findings of this study are expected to provide a basis for the overall quality evaluation of Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma.

[Content determination of six flavonoids in Dendrobium officinale stems from different producing areas,cultivation and processing methods by QAMS combined with dual-wavelength method]

A novel HPLC method with the quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker( QAMS) combined with the dual-wavelength method was developed for simultaneous determination of six flavonoids in Dendrobium officinale stems from different producing areas,cultivation and processing methods to clarify the main factors contributing to the different composition of flavonoids.The separation of six flavonoids was performed on a Shiseido Capcell PAK MGⅡ C18 column( 4. 6 mm×250 mm,5 μm) using a linear gradient elution system of acetonitrile-0. 1% formic acid aqueous solution. Schaftoside,isoschaftoside,vicenin-2,and glucosylvitexin were simultaneously analyzed using rutin as a reference standard at detection wavelength of 340 nm,and naringenin was determined at290 nm. The credibility and feasibility of QAMS method were validated and the results demonstrated that no significant differences were observed as compared with the external standard method. Finally,a total of 82 batches of D. officinale samples were analyzed and principal component analysis( PCA) and discriminant analysis were applied to distinguish and compare D. officinale samples from different producing areas,cultivation and processing methods. The results showed that the total flavonoid content of D. officinale stems cultivated in the simulated wild( attached tree cultivation or attached stone cultivation) was significantly higher than that in greenhouse bed cultivation. The content of flavonoids in simulated-wild D. officinale stems was higher in Jiangxi,Guizhou,Zhejiang,and Fujian provinces,while that in greenhouse bed cultivation was higher in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces. The content of naringenin was positively correlated with processing temperature,and that of the other five flavonoids was negatively correlated with processing temperature. PCA showed that wild-simulated D. officinale and greenhouse bed-cultivated D. officinale could be roughly divided into two clusters. The samples cultivated in the greenhouse bed were divided into four categories according to the geographical habitats. Wild-simulated D. officinale samples from Guizhou gathered together,and there was no obvious rule in samples from other producing areas. The established method simplified the determination method of flavonoids in D. officinale,and could provide the basis for effective quality control,cultivation and processing of D. officinale.

[Research and verification of quality evaluation method of Epimedii Folium based on quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker]

The quality control of Epimedii Folium, composed of diverse constituents, is single at present. In view of this, an eva-luation method of 13 chemical constituents based on quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS) was established to further explore the composition differences of raw products and alcohol extracts in different batches and the influence of alcohol extraction on the composition, so as to provide a reference for improving the quality evaluation and control of Epimedii Folium. The fingerprints of different batches of Epimedii Folium were constructed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography(UPLC) to evaluate the inter-batch consistency. The changes of the flavonoids in Epimedii Folium during alcohol extraction were analyzed based on determined levels and heat map, and the reasons for the changes were preliminarily discussed. With icariin, the quality control component recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, as the internal reference, the stability of the relative correction factors of chemical components under different conditions was investigated to obtain the relative correction factors. Then the determination results of QAMS and the external standard method were compared to verify the accuracy of QAMS. The results revealed that all batches of Epimedii Folium met the requirements specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and the fingerprints of Epimedii Folium from the same place of origin exhibited a high similarity. Raw products and alcohol extracts of Epimedii Folium could be clearly distinguished by prenylated flavonoids, which are potential biomarkers for quality control. Additionally, the glycoside hydrolysis in the alcohol extraction was preliminarily explored. The QAMS method has good accuracy, durability, and repeatability in determining 13 chemical components in Epimedii Folium under different experimental conditions. No significant difference in the results obtained by the two methods was observed. This study can provide a reference for comprehensive, rapid and reasonable quality evaluation of Epimedii Folium.

[Quality evaluation of Saposhnikoviae Radix based on QAMS combined with information entropy-response surface method]

This research was used with high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), combined with information entropy-response surface method(RSM) to investigate the ethanol concentration, extraction time, liquid-to-material ratio. Taking the content of four chromogens as evaluation indexes, the weight coefficients of each index were given, and the comprehensive score was calculated to optimize the extraction process. Then, prim-O-glucosylcimifugin was used as the reference, the relative calibration factors(RCFs) of cimifugin, 4'-O-β-D-glucosyl-5-O-methylvisamminol and sec-O-glucosylhamaudo to prim-O-glucosylcimifugin were calculated respectively. The contents of four components in Saposhnikoviae Radix were determined by both external standard method(ESM)and quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS) method, and the results were compared. At last, combined with principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) to evaluate the quality of the Saposhnikoviae Radix in different production areas. The optimal extraction process parameter of the Saposhnikoviae Radix was as follows: liquid-to-material ratio is 60∶1(mL·g~(-1)), extraction time is 35 min, and ethanol concentration is 70%. The repeatability of the RCFs was perfect, and the results calculated by the QAMS were consistent with the results from the ESM. The stoichiometric results indicate that there are obvious differences in the distribution of Saposhnikoviae Radix in different production areas, and cimifugin and prim-O-glucosylcimifugin are the characteristic compounds that cause this difference. In this study, the optimal extraction process is stable and feasible, and the method of QAMS is accurate and reliable. From the perspective of four chromogens, there are differences in the quality of the Saposhnikoviae Radix in different production areas. Therefore, the established extraction process combined with the method of QAMS can be used to evaluate the quality of Saposhnikoviae Radix and provide a scientific basis for the quality control of Saposhnikoviae Radix.

[Content determination of five flavonoids in Tibetan medicine Rhododendron anthopogonoides by quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS)]

To establish a quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS) method for five flavonoids in Rhododendron anthopogonoides and verify its feasibility and applicability in the medicinal materials of R. anthopogonoides. With hyperoside as the internal reference, relative correction factors(RCF) of rutin, quercetin, quercitrin and kaempferol were established by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) analysis. RCFs were used to calculate the content of each component, system durability and relative retention time. Simultaneously, QAMS and external standard method(ESM) were used to determine the content of five flavonoids in 12 batches of R. anthopogonoides from different origins. The results were statistically analyzed to verify the accuracy and feasibility. The fingerprints and cluster analysis data of R. anthopogonoides analyzed and discussed differences among the batches. According to the results, the RCFs of rutin, quercetin, quercetin and kaempferol in R. anthopogonoides were 1.242 6, 0.990 5, 0.535 0, and 0.781 3, respectively. The RCFs represented a good reproducibility under different experimental conditions. Besides, there was no significant difference between QAMS and ESM. Besides, the fingerprint and cluster analysis data showed the consistency between the classification and with the origin distribution of the herbs. In conclusion, the QAMS method shows a good stability and accuracy in the quality control of R. anthopogonoides.

[Qualitative and quantitative analysis on triterpenoids in Ligustri Lucidi Fructus]

Triterpenoids are one of the most active constituents in Ligustri Lucidi Fructus, but only oleanolic acid has been mostly studied. In recent years, a growing number of studies have shown that other triterpenes from Ligustri Lucidi Fructus also have various biological activities, so it is necessary to build up a detailed profile of the triterpenoids in Ligustri Lucidi Fructus. The chromatographic separation was performed on a C_(18) column(4.6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm) with mobile phase of methanol-acetonitrile-0.2% formic acid for gradient elution. The detection wavelength was set at 210 nm, with a flow rate of 0.5 mL·min~(-1), and the column temperature of 25 ℃. The HPLC fingerprint of triterpenoids in Ligustri Lucidi Fructus was built by testing 21 batches of samples from different sources. The structures of the total 15 common chromatographic peaks were elucidated with UHPLC-ESI-Orbitrap-MS/MS technique and six of them were identified as tormentic acid, pomolic acid, maslinic acid, botulin, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid by comparison to the reference substances. Under the same chromatographic condition, four main triterpenes(podocarboxylic acid, hawthorn acid, oleanolic acid and ursolic acid) were quantified and the results of system adaptability and methodology investigation all met the requirements of content determination. Meanwhile, with oleanolic acid(A) as the internal reference substance, quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS) method was used to analyze the above four components. The relative correction factor of oleanolic acid(B), hawthorn acid(C) and ursolic acid(D) to oleanolic acid was f_(B/A)=1.12, f_(C/A)=1.02 and f_(D/A)=0.88, respectively, and the relative retention values of these three to oleanolic acid was RRV_(B/A)=0.46, RRV_(C/A)=0.70 and RRV_(D/A)=1.03, respectively. The contents determined by two methods were similar. In conclusion, the method built in this paper is proved to be simple, reliable and specific for the simultaneous qualitative and quantitative analysis of the triterpenoids in Ligustri Lucidi Fructus, which can lay foundation for further assays of the triterpenoids in Ligustri Lucidi Fructus and the relative products.

[Determination of content of iridoids and flavonoids in Tibetan medicine "Lanhua Longdan" by quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker (QAMS)]

In this study, the content of iridoids and flavonoids in Tibetan medicine "Lanhua Longdan" was determined simul-taneously by quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS), which was used to verify the feasibility and applicability of the method in the application of Lanhua Longdan quality evaluation. Using HPLC with two typical elements gentiopicroside and isoorientin as the internal reference, the relative correction factor(RCF) between the mand loganin acid, swertiamarin, sweroside, isoscoparin-2″-β-D-glucopyranoside and isoscoparin was determined and then used, to calculate the content of several other components to achieve QAMS. At the same time, the external standard method(ESM) was used to determine the contents of these 7 components in the medicinal materials, and the differences were compared to verify the accuracy and feasibility of QAMS. The results showed that the RCF repeatability is good. There were no significant differences in the determination results of the contents of 12 batches of 4 varieties of Tibetan medicine Lanhua Longdan obtained by QAMS and ESM. Therefore, the QAMS can be used for the quality evaluation of Lanhua Longdan, and provides a reference for the quality evaluation of multi-index components of Lanhua Longdan. The results showed that the content of iridoid and flavonoid in the dried product should not be less than 0.6% and 0.8% respectively.

[Quality evaluation of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma by UPLC fingerprint combined with QAMS]

The present study was performed to establish the UPLC fingerprints of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma and determine the contents of three saponins by quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS), and provide basis for quality evaluation of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma. The analysis was carried out on an analytical column of Waters Cortecs T3(2.1 mm×100 mm,1.6 μm)with gradient elution by acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid solution, at a flow rate of 0.3 mL·min~(-1). The detection wavelength was 203 nm, the column temperature was 30 ℃ and the injection volume was 1 μL. The UPLC fingerprints of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma were established and evaluated by similarity calculation, cluster analysis and principal component analysis. The relative calibration factors of toberoside B and toberoside C were determined with toberoside A as internal reference. The content was calculated by relative calibration factors to develop a method of QAMS. Comparing the results of QAMS with those of ESM, the accuracy and feasibility of one-eva-luation and multi-evaluation can be determined. RESULTS:: showed that the fingerprints of 19 batches of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma have four common peaks with similarities ranging from 0.754 to 1.000. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis classified 19 batches of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma into three categories, which was consistent with the similarity evaluation results. The relative deviation between the content of tubeicosides B and C in 19 batches of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma determined by QAMS and ESM is less than 5.0%, indicating that there was no significant difference between the two methods. Therefore, the UPLC fingerprints combined with QAMS and similarity evaluation can be effectively used to evaluate the quality of Bolbostemmatis Rhizoma.

[Study on quality standard of Bufonis Venenum and its processed slice, toad venom powder]

Bufonis Venenum(toad venom) is prepared from the dried secretion of Bufo bufo gargarizans or B. melanostictus. Toad venom powder is one of the processed slices of crude material toad venom. In the present study, the global quality control method and standard of toad venom and its processed slice, toad venom powder were established, including TLC identification, characteristic chromatogram and QAMS by HPLC. The relative correction factor(RCF) was re-calculated and validated. The average RCFs of cinobufagin to gamabufotalin, bufotalin, bufalin and resibufogenin were considered for the determination of five bufadienolides in the samples. The total amount in the different batches of the dried samples varied from 4.06% to 17.0%. Referring to the revised methods for crude materials, the quality standard of toad venom powder was drafted including appearance description, TLC examination, characteristic chromatogram, water content and the total amount of five bufadienolides. The present investigation provided scientific evidences for the quality standard improvement of toad venom to be described in the next edition of Chinese pharmacopoeia(2020 edition).

[Determination of ten kinds of α-hydroxy acids in cosmetics with quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker]

OBJECTIVE

To establish a method for determination of ten kinds of α-hydroxy acids in cosmetics with quantitative analysis of multi-components by single marker(QAMS).

METHODS

The analytes were separated by high performance liquid chromatography on a Venusil XBP C_8 column(4. 6 mm×250 mm, 5 μm), with the mobile phases of ammonium dihydrogen phosphate buffer-methonal under a gradient elution. The components were detected at the wavelengths of 214 nm using a diode array detector. Citric acid was used as the internal standard to determine the relative correction factors(RCFs) of the nine other α-hydroxy acids, in order to calculate their contents in samples by their RCFs.

RESULTS

Good linearity with correlation coefficients greater than 0. 9994 was obtained for all the analytes. Stabilities within 24 h and precision of ten α-hydroxy acids were all good. Recoveries of the method were from 89. 3% to 105. 0% at three concentration levels, with the relative standard deviation(RSD) from 1. 0% to 2. 9%. Nine batches of samples were determined by QAMS, as well as the standard curve method(SCM). The relative average deviations(RAD) were below 3. 2% between the result of the two method, which showed good feasibility and accuracy of QAMS.

CONCLUSION

The method is simple, accurate and beneficial to the saving of reference substances, which is suitable for the determination of ten kinds of α-hydroxy acids in cosmetics.