ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To study the correlation analysis between the HPLC fingerprints of Astragali Radix extracts and the antifatigue effects. METHODS: Three types of extracts of Astragali Radix were obtained and arranged by uniform design for HPLC fingerprint analysis and the antifatigue effect experiment. The correlation analysis between the HPLC fingerprints of Astragali Radix extracts and the antifatigue effects were carried out with orthogonal signal correction-partial least squares (OSC- PLS) method. RESULTS: The antifatigue activity could be strengthened by chromatographic peaks in the fingerprints of flavonoids and other kinds of ingredients (including saponins), but could be weakened by Astragalus polysaccharides in Astragali Radix. Among total variables, there were 36 variables (including 35 peaks and a variable of Astragalus polysaccharides) that had important contribution to "fingerprint-efficacy" model. CONCLUSION: OSC-PLS can remove uncorrelated information between fingerprint and efficacy, simplify the structure of model and improve the interpretative ability of model, and could be a reference method to investigate chromatographic fingerprint-efficacy relationship of complex system of traditional Chinese medicine.
