Analysis of curcuminoids and volatile components in 160 batches of turmeric samples in China by high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography mass spectrometry.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a popular herbal medicine worldwide. Curcuminoids and volatile constituents are its major bioactive components. To improve the quality control of turmeric, we determined the contents of three main curcuminoids in 160 batches of turmeric samples collected from five major production areas of China by HPLC, and analyzed the volatile components by GC/MS. The results indicated that samples with red cross sections (2.75 ±â€¯0.82 mg/g) contained significantly higher amounts of curcuminoids than samples with yellow sections (1.23 ±â€¯0.60 mg/g) (p < 0.001). This result was consistent with empirical standard of TCM pharmacists. The contents of curcuminoids in samples from Hainan (4.51±0.25%), Guizhou (3.17±0.41%), and Sichuan (2.25±0.54%) were relatively high and consistent. Moreover, the GC/MS profiles of turmeric may be affected by storage and processing. This study sets a good example for comprehensive quality control of herbal medicines.

Quantitative Analysis of Polysaccharide Composition in Polyporus umbellatus by HPLC-ESI-TOF-MS.

Polyporus umbellatus is a well-known and important medicinal fungus in Asia. Its polysaccharides possess interesting bioactivities such as antitumor, antioxidant, hepatoprotective and immunomodulatory effects. A qualitative and quantitative method has been established for the analysis of 12 monosaccharides comprising polysaccharides of Polyporus umbellatus based on high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization-ion trap-time of flight-mass spectrometry. The hydrolysis conditions of the polysaccharides were optimized by orthogonal design. The results of optimized hydrolysis were as follows: neutral sugars and uronic acids 4 mol/L trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), 6 h, 120 °C; and amino sugars 3 mol/L TFA, 3 h, 100 °C. The resulting monosaccharides derivatized with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone have been well separated and analyzed by the established method. Identification of the monosaccharides was carried out by analyzing the mass spectral behaviors and chromatography characteristics of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolone labeled monosaccharides. The results showed that polysaccharides in Polyporus umbellatus were composed of mannose, glucosamine, rhamnose, ribose, lyxose, erythrose, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose, xylose, and fucose. Quantitative recoveries of these monosaccharides in the samples were in the range of 96.10-103.70%. This method is simple, accurate, and sensitive for the identification and quantification of monosaccharides, and can be applied to the quality control of Polyporusumbellatus as a natural medicine.

[History evolution of salt production and processing with brine].

Salt is an important excipient for Chinese medicine salt. The standardization of its quality is conducive to ensuring the quality of Chinese medicine pieces. In this paper, the processing with brine and the processing auxiliary salt were studied from three aspects： the history evolution of salt, the history evolution of processing with brine, and the modern research of processing with brine. It has been found that salt plays an important role in the history of China. It has a long history and a wide variety. The salt used in the processing of traditional Chinese medicine mainly includes three categories： common salt, halitum and white salt. The quality of salt is closely related to its origin and processing, mainly based on the color and the place of origin. In ancient times, the varieties of salt used in the production of different Chinese herbal medicines were different, which might be related to the nature of drugs. The primary purpose of processing with brine is to increase the efficacy of drugs. At present, there are many reports on optimizing the preparation technology of processing with brine, but the evaluation indexes are quite different, and its scientific nature is to be discussed. The processing method with brine and its processing auxiliary materials are lacking of relevant evaluation standards and quality standards, which is not conducive to the healthy development of Chinese herbal pieces. In this paper, the relevant literature was studied in order to provide reference for the establishment of standards for salt processing excipient in traditional Chinese medicine.