Preliminary Study on Commodity Grade Classification of Phyllanthi Fructus Based on Color Component Correlation / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective:To provide a scientific basis for the classification of Phyllanthi Fructus product grades. Method:A total of 30 batches of Phyllanthi Fructus currently available in the market were collected for quantification based on such appearance indexes as diameter， thickness， grain weight， and crust colour （<italic>L</italic>^*， <italic>a</italic>^*， and <italic>b</italic>^* values）. The contents of gallic acid， corilagin， chebulagic acid， and ellagic acid were measured by high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC）， followed by descriptive statistical analysis （DSA）， analysis of variance （ANOVA）， and principal component analysis （PCA） to determine the importance of each main index and explore the correlations between the appearance indexes and internal components. The classification standard of Phyllanthi Fructus product grades was formulated， and its scientificity was verified in hepatocelular carcinoma HepG2 cells. Result:The correlation analysis revealed that the crust colour <italic>L</italic>^*， <italic>a</italic>^*， and <italic>b</italic>^* values were significantly negatively correlated with corilagin， chebulagic acid， and ellagic acid （<italic>|r|</italic>>0.5， <italic>P</italic><0.01）， but irrelevant to gallic acid （<italic>|r|</italic><0.1）. Considering the variable coefficient of each index， PCA results， and the requirement of gallic acid as quality indicator for Phyllanthi Fructus in <italic>Chinese Pharmacopoeia</italic>， the crust colour <italic>L</italic>^*， <italic>a</italic>^*， and <italic>b</italic>^* values and gallic acid content were determined to be the classification indexes. The K-means cluster analysis confirmed that products with crust colour <italic>L</italic>^*<44， <italic>a</italic>^*<7， and <italic>b</italic>^*<10 and gallic acid content >1.6% could be classified into the first class， and those failing to meet the above requirements into the second class. The cell experiment demonstrated that the half-maximal inhibitory concentration （IC₅₀） of the first-class product against hepatocelular carcinoma HepG2 cells was lower than that of the second-class product. A colourimetric card was developed based on crust colour <italic>L</italic>^*， <italic>a</italic>^*， and <italic>b</italic>^* values to provide a visual tool for on-site evaluation of Phyllanthi Fructus products. Conclusion:This study has initially established the classification standard of Phyllanthi Fructus product grades， which contributes to guiding price negotiation of Phyllanthi Fructus products based on quality grade and thus ensuring high quality and high price.

Scientificity of traditional commodity grade of Chinese medicinal materials--taking Lonicerae Japonicae Flos as example / 中国中药杂志

Taking Lonicerae Japonicae Flos as an example, the method of "expert consensus of different regions" was used to screen the representative samples and evaluate their commodity grades. The correlation analysis, hierarchical cluster analysis and partial least squares discriminant analysis(PLS-DA) of "commodity grade-appearance characteristic-component content" were carried out to reveal the scientificity of traditional commodity grade of Chinese medicinal material. By referring to the existing literature and the grade investigation from the sample collection regions, 78 "initial grade" samples were screened out from 118 collected samples. Authoritative experts from four regions(n=4) including Linyi(Shangdong province), Bozhou(Anhui province), Anguo(Hebei province) and Beijing were organized to evaluate their commodity grades, separately. Based on the grade consistency rate(R_i≥70%), 69 "local grade" samples were screened out from the "initial grade" samples. Based on the average grade consistency rate ■ "authoritative grade" samples were screened out from the "local grade" samples, including15 first-grade samples, 9 second-grade samples, 11 third-grade samples and 17 fourth-grade samples. For these "authoritative grade" samples, the main appea-rance characteristics were quantified and the contents of 13 components were determined by ultra performance liquid chromatography(UPLC). Furthermore, the total contents of 6 phenolic acids, 4 flavonoids and 3 iridoids were calculated, respectively. The results of correlation analysis showed that 4 appearance characteristics indices were correlated with the commodity grades: color, rate of yellow bars(including blooming flowers), rate of black heads(including black bars), and rate of stems and leaves(including bud debris). Five component content indices were correlated with the commodity grades: chlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid C, sweroside, loganin and the total contents of six phenolic acids. Furthermore, chlorogenic acid, loganin and the total contents of six phenolic acids showed significantly negative correlation with the main appearance characteristics, indicating that the appearance characteristics of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos can reflect its internal quality, and these 3 indices can be used as quality markers(Q-markers). The results of hierarchical cluster analysis showed that the samples of four grades were classified into four categories, and the samples with the same grades and the same categories accounted for 80.8% of the total samples, while the samples with the different grades were obviously classified into different categories. The results of PLS-DA analysis showed that the samples of different grades showed obvious intragroup aggregation and intergroup dispersion. The above results indicated that it was feasible to evaluate the traditional commodity grade of Lonicerae Japonicae Flos by the method of "expert consensus of different regions". For the evaluation of traditional commodity grade of Chinese medicinal material, the samples should be representative, expert conclusions should have enough consensuses, and grade determination should be authoritative. As the crystallization of clinical experience, traditional commodity grade can scientifically reflect the internal quality of Chinese medicinal material.

Quality analysis of different grades of Glycyrrhiza Polygalae Radix slices / 药学学报

The grading and quality analysis methods for different commercial Glycyrrhiza Polygalae Radix slices were established. The qualities of different grade samples were analyzed and compared, in order to provide useful information for the formulation of the grading standards of Glycyrrhiza Polygalae Radix slices. A total of 34 batches of Glycyrrhiza Polygalae Radix slice samples collected from 12 companies were divided into two grades: first-grade (diameter ≥ 3.0 mm) and second-grade (diameter < 3.0 mm). Thin-layer chromatography (TLC), multi-component content determination and fingerprint analysis were used to analyze the qualities of different grades of Glycyrrhiza Polygalae Radix slices, and the fingerprints were statistically analyzed using partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). The results showed that the established TLC method can simultaneously identify three major types of components, including sugar esters, xanthones, and saponins in Glycyrrhiza Polygalae Radix slices, and has obvious advantage compared to the existing methods for its rich information, low cost, and easy or safe operation. The multi-component determination showed that the contents of three index components (polygalaxanthone Ⅲ, 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose and tenuifolin) in the first-grade products of Glycyrrhiza Polygalae Radix slices were lower than those in the second-grade products. The results of PLS-DA and OPLS-DA indicated significant differences were observed between the first-grade and second-grade products, with sibiricose A5, sibiricose A6, polygalaxanthone Ⅲ, 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose and tenuifoliside A being identifies as the major differentiate markers.

Comprehensive Quality Evaluation of Gansu Baitiao Codonopsis Radix with Different Commercial Grades / 中国中医药信息杂志

ObjectiveTo compare the quality of Baitiao Codonopsis Radix with different commercial grades; To provide the basis for the rational utilization of Codonopsis Radix.MethodsTotally 54 batchs of Baitiao Codonopsis Radix with different commercial grades from main producing areas in Gansu were collected. The contents of lobetyolin and atractylenoideⅢ in Codonopsis Radix were detected by HPLC. Colorimetric method was used to detect the content of polysaccharide in the Codonopsis Radix. Chinese Pharmacopoeia 2010 Edition was referred to detect the content of extractum. One way ANOVA and factor analysis method were used to comprehensively evaluate the data.ResultsLobetyolin and atractylenoideⅢ were all negatively correlated with commercial grades. The results of the principal component factor ranking showed that the samples were not sorted by the order of commercial grades, with commercial grade two ranking in the forefront.Conclusion The quality of Baitiao Codonopsis Radix with different commercial grades is different, and the quality of commercial grade two is better than other commercial grades.