ABSTRACT
Objective: Taking electronic-eye (visual analyzer) technique,based on the powder color of Andrographis Herba,to investigate the applicability of electronic-eye technique and evaluate the quality of Andrographis Herba with different commercial specifications. Method: HPLC was employed to determine contents of andrographolide,dehydroandrographolide,14-deoxyandrographolide,neoandrographolide in 50 batches of Andrographis Herba with different commercial specifications(stems,leaves and aerial parts).Color of these samples were measured by electronic-eye technique.The data were analyzed by principal component analysis(PCA) and Pearson correlation analysis.The ability of electronic-eye to distinguish the different commercial specifications of Andrographis Herba was investigated and the correlation of chroma space system parameters (L*,a*,b*) with active components was investigated. Result: There was remarkable difference in contents of 4 diterpenoids in Andrographis Herba from different parts,their contents in leaves was the highest,followed by the aerial parts(mixture of stems and leaves),and their contents in stems was the lowest.The results of PCA was divided into two classes,namely the stem part,leaf and aerial parts,indicating that electronic-eye could be used to distinguish the quality of Andrographis Herba.The correlation results showed that there were significant negative correlation(PL*(lightness value) and the contents of andrographolide,dehydroandrographolide,14-deoxyandrographolide,neoandrographolide and the total content of these 4 components.In addition,L* of samples that did not conform to the lower limit of determination in the 2015 edition of Chinese Pharmacopeia was ≥ 69.5,and the L* of more than 90% of the samples in accordance with the requirements was Conclusion: Electronic-eye technique provides a new method and idea for the quality evaluation of Andrographis Herba.
ABSTRACT
Objective The research is about the correlation of the color values of Curcuma longa in Sichuan and the content of the main composition (curcumin, demethoxycurcumin, bisdemethoxycurcumin, and curcuminoids). Methods Based on the theory of “distinguish quality by the appearance of medicine”, CM-5 spectro-colorimeter was used to measure the color values of slices and powders of C. longa in Sichuan, and combining to the content of the main composition of these medicines to analyze the correlation between them. Results It showed that there was a significant negative correlation between the color values of powders of C. longa in Sichuan (L*, b*, and ΔE*ab) and the content of the main component of medicines. The correlation coefficients were all around 0.4; Meanwhile, there was a significant positive correlation between the color value a* of C. longa in Sichuan and its main composition content, and the correlation coefficients were all around 0.7. Conclusion The color value a* of C. longa powders produced in Sichuan has higher correlation than other color values. It prompted that we can predict and judge the quality of C. longa in Sichuan by color value a* of C. longa powders, thereby verifying the scientificity of “distinguish quality by the appearance of medicine” in the identification of C. longa. The research can lay the foundation of establishing the evaluation system of C. longa, which can rapidly identify the quality of C. longa.