ABSTRACT
As known,simultaneous determination of various chemical indicators is one of the future trends in quality control of traditional Chinese medicines because of the extremely complex chemical compositions. This project is to screen the quality markers that can accurately control the quality of the Bufonis Venenum by exploring the intrinsic correlation of components. In this study,venom of Bufo bufo gargarizans from 17 different sources were used as research samples,and the contents of 7 bufogenin were determined by HPLC-DAD. Then,the data obtained were analyzed by Spearman correlation analysis and principal component analysis( PCA). In addition,a stepwise regression analysis was used to establish a predictive model for the contents of the seven bufogenin components( independent variable) and the total contents of the bufogenin( dependent variable). The results indicated that there is a significant positive correlation between the contents of telocinobufagin and cinobufotalin,and there is a significant positive correlation between the contents of bufalin,cinobufagin and resibufogenin. In contrast,the contents of telocinobufagin and cinobufotalin are negatively correlated with the contents of bufalin,cinobufagin and resibufogenin. However,the correlation between gamabufotalin and bufotalin and other components are not obvious. Furthermore,further study found that there is a correlation between the sum of the contents of bufalin,cinobufagin and telocinobufagin and the total contents of the bufogenin. In fact,the application of bufalin,cinobufagin and telocinobufagin as the quality control indicators of the Bufonis Venenum can better reflect the quality characteristics of the Bufonis Venenum compared with the previous quality control indicators. The conclusions will provide a reference for the revision of the quality standards of the Bufonis Venenum.