Chemical markers for quality control of bran-fried sulfur-fumigated Paeoniae Radix Alba.

In traditional Chinese medicine practice, crude herbs are often subjected to traditional processing (Paozhi in Chinese) for a special medicinal purpose. Bran-frying is one of processing methods for Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA). Previous studies found that paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate, a principle bioactive compound and its sulfur-fumigation induced characteristic sulfur-containing derivative, could be used together with sulfur dioxide residue as chemical markers for the quality control of sulfur-fumigated PRA crude material. In this paper, the feasibility of these three markers used for the quality control of bran-fried sulfur-fumigated PRA was further investigated. First, homemade samples of sulfur-fumigated PRA with different sulfur-fumigation duration (0.5-6 h) were bran-fried, and stored for 12 months. Second, the contents of sulfur dioxide residue, paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate were dynamically quantified respectively. Third, the variation of the marker contents and their correlation during bran-frying and storage was evaluated. A validation was conducted using commercial bran-fried PRA samples. The results showed that bran-frying caused an averaged reduction of 20% in the content of sulfur dioxide residue, and during the first two months of storage the content of sulfur dioxide residue was decreased by up to 27%, then the content was tending towards stability for the subsequent ten months of storage (RSD = 3.92%). Meanwhile, paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate were relatively stable, the contents of which were not affected by bran-frying processing and 12 months of storage. The correlations between the contents of sulfur dioxide residue and paeoniflorin/paeoniflorin sulfonate were obviously influenced by storage duration. Since sulfur dioxide residue is a safety marker, while paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate can reflect the inner quality and the impact extent of sulfur-fumigation on the quality of bran-fried PRA respectively, these three chemicals might be used together as markers for the quality control, and consequently to ensure the safety and efficacy of bran-fried PRA.

Simultaneous determination of five constituents in Baishao Formula Granules by HPLC / 中成药

AIM To establish an HPLC method for the simultaneous content determination of five constituents in Baishao Formula Granules (Paeoniae Radix Alba).METHODS The analysis of aqueous extract of this drug was performed on a 30 ℃ thermostatic Phenomenex C18 column (4.6 mm × 250 mm,5 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of acetonitrile-0.05％ phosphoric acid flowing at 1.0 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and the detection wavelength was set at 230 nm.RESULTS Paeoniflorin,albiflorin,paeoniflorin sulfonate,gallic acid and benzoic acid showed good linear relationships within the ranges of 0.020-0.639 mg/mL (r =0.999 8),0.005-0.172 mg/mL (r =0.999 9),0.020-0.652 mg/mL (r =1.000 0),0.003-0.097 mg/mL (r =0.999 8),0.002-0.058 mg/mL (r =0.999 7),whose average recoveries were 99.1％,98.3％,98.6％,98.1％ and 99.5％ with the RSDs of 1.86％,1.37％,1.69％,1.46％ and 2.26％,respectively.The contents of various constituents in twenty-seven batches of samples demonstrated obvious differences.CONCLUSION We should pay attention to Paeoniae Radix Alba in Baishao Formula Granules due to its unstable quality.

Chemical markers for quality control of sulfur-fumigated Paeoniae Radix Alba dispensing granules / 中草药

Objective Previous studies found that characteristic sulfur-containing derivatives induced by sulfur-fumigation of medicinal herbs could be used together with sulfur dioxide (SO2) as chemical markers for the quality control of sulfur-fumigated herbs owing to the more specific and reproducibility of characteristic sulfur-containing derivatives over SO2 index. In this paper, the feasibility of these two indices used for the quality control of herbal dispensing granules was further investigated. Methods Using Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA) as an example, the contents of SO2, paeoniflorin as well as paeoniflorin sulfonate, the characteristic sulfur-containing derivatives of sulfur-fumigated RPA in PRA processing pieces, decoctions, concentrates, and dried extracts were quantified by SO2 residue determination method documented in Chinese Pharmacopeia and HPLC technique, and the transfer ratios of these components during preparation procedures of PRA dispensing granules were evaluated. Results It was found that SO2, paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate could all be detectable in the samples of decoctions, concentrates and dried extracts, indicating that these three components could be used as chemical markers to indicate the quality changes during preparation of PRA dispensing granules. However, the transfer ratios of these three components were different from each other, with the contents of SO2 and paeoniflorin decreased, whereas that of paeoniflorin sulfonate increased during preparation of PRA dispensing granules. In addition, in those commercial PRA dispensing granules samples SO2 detectable, paeoniflorin sulfonate also detectable. Conclusion Since SO2 residue is a safety index, while paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate can reflect the inner quality and the impact extent of sulfur-fumigation on the quality of PRA dispensing granules respectively, the three components might be used together as chemical markers for the quality control, and consequently to ensure the safety and efficacy of PRA dispensing granules.