ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the advantages and disadvantages of sulfuring to Codonopsis Radix in its process of storage. METHODS: Sulfur dioxide residual amount was determined by distillation. The character was observed referring to Ch.P. The content of polysaccharide was measured by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. The contents of lobetyolin and rhizome atractylodis inner fat III were measured by high performance liquid chromatography, and fingerprints were established. RESULTS: Under the natural storage conditions, the contents of effective components decreased with the extension of storage time. After being stored for 30 m, the Codonopsis Radix samples without sulfuring treatment had darkened color and were damaged by worms seriously, the contents of polysaccharide, lobetyolin, and rhizome atractylodis inner fat III reduced by more than half, and yellow aspergillus toxin were detected; however, few sulfured samples were damaged by worms and the magnitude of content decrease of the three compounds was significantly smaller than that of the non-sulfured ones. CONCLUSION: Storage time is negatively correlated with the medicinal quality of Codonopsis Radix and proper sulfuring can slow the rate of quality deteriorating of Codonopsis Radix.