ABSTRACT
Objective: To compare with the contents of alkaline substances from four different prescription of formulations of traditional Chinese medicine (single aconite decoction, Jiangfu Decoction, Sini Decoction, and Shenfu Injection) with the same dose of aconite. Methods: Taken aconitine as the standard substance, the area under absorbance-wavelength curve (AUAWC) and absorption values of alkaline substances from four formulations, namely single aconite decoction, Jiangfu Decoction, Sini Decoction and Shenfu Injection (every concentration of aconite crude herb for 0.2 g/mL as the same dose), were obtained, respectively, which were determined by the method of AUAWC after the scanning for the wavelength from 200~600 nm and the method of bromocresol green colorimetric at 415 nm, and the data calculated were compared. Results: The results are accurate and reliable, and the methods of both AUAWC and bromocresol green colorimetric are feasible. The linear equations were Y = 0.145 42 X + 3.240 4, r = 0.999 3 for the AUAWC and Y = 0.008 63 X + 0.006 57, r = 0.999 5 for the bromocresol green colorimetric, respectively. The contents of alkaline substances from single aconite decoction, Jiangfu Decoction, Sini Decoction and Shenfu Injection were acquired through the method of AUAWC, which were 1 137.992, 2 907.120, 2 455.611, and 298.208 μg/mL, respectively, and the contents of aconitum alkaline substances were obtained by bromocresol green colorimetric with the concentration of 293.824, 447.767, 343.804 and 38.382 μg/mL, respectively. The content determined by the former method was much larger than that of the latter method, but the trend of the contents from two methods was the same, which was Jiangfu Decoction > Sini Decoction > single aconite decoction > Shenfu Injection. Conclusion: The contents of alkaline substances from different prescription of formulations of traditional Chinese medicine with the same dose of aconite are different, and the concentration of overall alkaline substances from AUAWC is more comprehensive than that of aconitum alkaline substances determined by bromocresol green colorimetric, which will provide more scientific theory interpretation for compatibility mechanism and dose-effect relationship as well as security research of Chinese medicine preparation of aconite.