Evaluation of taste changes of Scutellariae Radix before and after wine-frying based on electronic ongue technology and its application in identification of Scutellariae Radix pieces / 中国中药杂志

Scutellariae Radix(Huangqin) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) used for the treatment of clearing heat in clinical application. It is bitter-cold by using directly, but the bitter-cold property can be relieved after wine-frying. The study of taste changes before and after wine-frying of Scutellariae Radix is of great significance in identifying Scutellariae Radix and wine-processed Scutellariae Radix and clarifying the traditional theory of wine-processing. In this experiment, 10 batches of Scutellariae Radix and wine-processed Scutellariae Radix were prepared. The contents of 5 flavonoids were determined by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), and principal component analysis(PCA) was performed with 5 flavonoids as variables. As a result, the contents were different in different batches of Scutellariae Radix, but Scutellariae Radix and wine-processed Scutellariae Radix could not be distinguished. Five sensory attributes(sour, salty, fresh, sweet, and bitter) were evaluated by artificial tasting, and the response values of 7 sensors(AHS, AHS, PKS, CTS, NMS, CPS, ANS, SCS) representing the taste of pieces were detected by electronic tongue. The correlation between sensory evaluation and response values of the electronic tongue were analyzed, and the results showed that the sensory evaluation of sour, salty, fresh, sweet, bitter and AHS, CTS, NMS, ANS, SCS sensors had different degrees of correlation, indicating that the electronic tongue technology can be used as an alternative to artificial taste and can serve as a means for quantifying the taste, and it can be used to evaluate the taste of TCM pieces. The taste method was used to analyze the response values of the electronic tongue, and the results showed that the bitterness of wine-processed Scutellariae Radix decreased and the salty taste increased. PCA was used to analyze taste changes before and after wine-processed Scutellariae Radix, and the results showed that taste differences between 2 pieces were divided into 2 categories. PCA loading scattering plots showed that response of saltiness and bitterness were the major factors to affect overall taste in Scutellariae Radix and wine-processed Scutellariae Radix. Based on electronic tongue response values, the Fisher discriminant model for Scutellariae Radix and wine-processed Scutellariae Radix was established, which showed that it could effectively discriminate them with a recognition rate of 100%. The experimental results showed that the electronic tongue combined with multivariate statistical analysis can be used to evaluate taste of TCM, at the same time, it could provide a fast and simple method for identifying different processed products.

Comparison of chemical compositions before and after wine-frying of Scutellaria baicalensis based on HPLC characteristic chromatogram, UPLC-Q-TOF/ MS qualitative and multi-component quantitative analysis / 中草药

Objective: To compare the chemical compositions of Scutellariae Radix (SR) before and after wine-frying, and provide a reference for establishing a comprehensive quality evaluation method for SR decoction pieces. Methods: Characteristic chromatogram of SR and wine-processed Scutellariae Radix (wpSR) were established using HPLC, the control characteristic chromatogram maps were generated, the common peaks were calibrated and the similarity was evaluated. Chemical compositions of SR and wpSR were identified by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS. The content profiles of 11 flavonoids (baicalin, baicalein, wogonoside, wogonin, oroxylin A, oroxyloside, scutellarin, apigenin, hispidulin, luteoloside and chrysin) of SR and wpSR was determined by UPLC-TQMS, and PCA was used to analysis the content of 11 flavonoids. Results: The characteristic chromatogram of SR and wpSR were established, and nine common peaks were calibrated. The similarity of two pieces were all greater than 0.947. Through the analysis of the multistage tandem mass spectrometry, retention time matching combined with the software of database search and literatures, 50 compositions were found and 44 compositions were identified in two pieces. The quantitative results showed that the content of flavonoid glycosides such as baicalin and wogonoside decreased slightly, while the content of flavonoid aglycones such as baicalein and wogonin increased slightly. After multivariate statistical analysis, two pieces were divided into two types. The differences of the content of baicalin, wogonoside and oroxyloside may be the main factors causing the change of chemical compositions of wine-frying of SR. Conclusion: Chemical profiles did not change after wine-frying of SR, but the content profiles of some compositions were changed. The established method can provide reproducible, efficient, as well as accurate analysis for Chinese medicinal materials. And it should be an eligible tool for the quality evaluation of SR.

Correlation between color of Scutellariae Radix pieces and content of five flavonoids after softening and cutting by different methods / 中国中药杂志

Scutellariae Radix is one of the commonly used heat-clearing and damp-drying drugs in clinical practice. Establishment of the quality evaluation system for Scutellariae Radix is of great significance to ensure safety and effectiveness of clinical drug use.Scutellariae Radix pieces were prepared under different processing conditions with 3 softening methods: boiling,atmospheric steaming and pressurized steaming. High performance liquid chromatography( HPLC) method was used to determine the content of five flavonoids in Scutellariae Radix,and L*,a*,b*values representing color chromaticity of Scutellariae Radix powder were measured by colorimeter,then total color value E*was calculated. Simple correlation and canonical correlation analysis was used to explore the correlation between color of Scutellariae Radix powder and content of five flavonoids. The results showed that the contents of baicalin and wogonoside were significantly positively correlated with L*,b*and E*values,but negatively correlated with a*value. The contents of wogonin,apigenin,and melaleuca A were positively correlated with a*value,but negatively correlated with L*,b*,and E*values( P<0. 01). There was a significant negative correlation between the content of flavonoid glycosides and flavonoid aglycones( P<0. 01).All of these indicated that the color of Scutellariae Radix powder was significantly correlated with content of five flavonoids. The experiment results proved that when color difference between Huangqin pieces and medicinal materials was kept at ΔL*<6,Δb*<3,ΔE*<6,the total amount of the two glycosides in the pieces was about ±1. 5% of the medicinal materials; in this case,the total amount of the two glycosides was relatively high and stable,indicating that the color of Huangqin decoction pieces is a concrete manifestation of its intrinsic quality,and the chromaticity value detected by colorimeter can be used as a means to quickly evaluate the quality of Scutellariae Radix pieces. The results provide a new detection index for the characteristic quality evaluation system of Scutellariae Radix pieces.