ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To establish the HPLC fingerprint of Xintongshu spray， determine the contents of identified components， and investigate the transferring patterns of the index components of decoction pieces， intermediates and spray， so as to provide scientific reference for technology management and quality control of Xintongshu spray. METHODS HPLC fingerprints of 13 batches of Xintongshu spray were established by the Similarity Evaluation System for Chromatographic Fingerprints of TCM （2012 edition）， and common peaks were identified； the contents of identified components were determined by HPLC. The paeonol in Moutan Cortex and ferulic acid in Chuanxiong Rhizoma were used as index components to investigate the transferring patterns of them in decoction pieces， intermediates and spray. RESULTS There were a total of 33 common peaks in the fingerprints of 13 batches of Xintongshu spray， and the similarities were more than 0.994. Eight components were identified， i.e. gallic acid （peak 5）， oxypaeoniflorin （peak 9）， chlorogenic acid（peak 10）， caffeic acid （peak 14）， paeoniflorin （peak 17）， ferulic acid （peak 21）， senkyunolide Ⅰ （peak 27） and paeonol （peak 31）. The contents of 8 components ranged from 0.590 3- 0.719 7， 0.565 7-0.851 3， 0.279 4-0.368 1， 0.080 6-0.106 1， 1.922 5-3.033 5， 0.151 3-0.191 6， 0.250 6-0.336 0， 3.056 7-4.161 0 mg/mL， respectively. The average transfer rates of paeonol and ferulic acid from decoction pieces to sprays were 63.76% and 38.06%， respectively. It was also found that the process in which the loss of paeonol was more than 30% was the extraction by percolation and negative pressure concentration of Moutan Cortex. The process in which the loss of ferulic acid was more than 50% was the steam distillation extraction process of Chuanxiong Rhizoma. CONCLUSIONS The established HPLC fingerprint and content determination method of Xintongshu spray are reproducible and specific. The key processes that cause a decrease in the average transfer rates of the index components are the extraction by percolation and negative pressure concentration of Moutan Cortex and steam distillation extraction of Chuanxiong Rhizoma.