Simultaneous Quantification of Seven Bioactive Flavonoids in Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium by Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography Coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry.

INTRODUCTION: Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP) is a commonly-used traditional Chinese medicine with flavonoids as the major bioactive components. Nevertheless, the contents of the flavonoids in CRP of different sources may significantly vary affecting their therapeutic effects. Thus, the setting up of a reliable and comprehensive quality assessment method for flavonoids in CRP is necessary. OBJECTIVE: To set up a rapid and sensitive ultra-fast liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-MS/MS) method for simultaneous quantification of seven bioactive flavonoids in CRP. METHODS: A UFLC-MS/MS method coupled to ultrasound-assisted extraction was developed for simultaneous separation and quantification of seven flavonoids including hesperidin, neohesperidin, naringin, narirutin, tangeretin, nobiletin and sinensetin in 16 batches of CRP samples from different sources in China. RESULTS: The established method showed good linearity for all analytes with correlation coefficient (R) over 0.9980, together with satisfactory accuracy, precision and reproducibility. Furthermore, the recoveries at the three spiked levels were higher than 89.71% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 5.19%. The results indicated that the contents of seven bioactive flavonoids in CRP varied significantly among different sources. Among the samples under study, hesperidin showed the highest contents in 16 samples ranged from 27.50 to 86.30 mg/g, the contents of hesperidin in CRP-15 and CRP-9 were 27.50 and 86.30 mg/g, respectively, while, the amount of narirutin was too low to be measured in some samples. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that the developed UFLC-MS/MS method was simple, sensitive and reliable for simultaneous quantification of multi-components in CRP with potential perspective for quality control of complex matrices. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Application of natural plant pigment in hair dyes].

With the development of living condition, more and more people tend to show unique personality, thus hair dyes as hair cosmetics are highly favored. By the year 2012, the global sales of hair dye had exceeded $15 billion, with a sustained growth at a rate of 8%-10% annually. However, the harm caused by long-term use of hair dyes has aroused widespread public concern, so people begin to seek non-toxic or low toxic natural plant hair dyes. The types of commonly used hair dyes and the corresponding dyeing mechanisms were summarized in this manuscript, and the representative natural botanic dyes were listed. Thereafter, their effective fractions, constituents and application status were described. In addition, the values of botanic hair dyes and their broad market prospect were discussed. Finally, the problems that exist in the research and development of plant hair dyes were issued. This review may help to provide thought for developing novel, green and ecological natural plant hair dyes.

[Study on essential oils of medicinal plants in insect repellent].

Mosquitoes are seriously harmful to human health for transmitting some mortal diseases. Among the methods of mosquito control, synthetical insecticides are the most popular. However, as a result of longterm use of these insecticides, high resistant mosquitos and heavy environmental pollution appear. Thus, eco-friendly prevention measures are taken into the agenda. Essential oils extracted from medicinal plants have repellent and smoked killing effects on mosquitoes. With abundant medical plants resources and low toxicity, they have the potential of being developed as a new type of mosquito and insect repellent agent. The recent application advances of essential oils of medicinal plants in insect repellent and its application limitations are overviewed. This review will provide references for the future development and in-depth study of essential oils.