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OBJECTIVE To analyze the metabolites of Zhideke granules and speculate its metabolic pathway in rats in vivo. METHODS Male SD rats were randomly divided into blank group and administration group （Zhideke granules， 9.45 g/kg）； they were given ultrapure water or relevant medicine， twice a day， every 6-8 h， for 3 consecutive days. Serum， urine and feces samples of rats were collected， and their metabolites were identified by UPLC-Q-Exactive-MS technique after intragastric administration of Zhideke granules； their metabolic pathways were speculated. RESULTS After intragastric administration of Zhideke granules， 16 prototype components （i.g. irisflorentin， baicalin， chlorogenic acid） and 11 metabolites （i.g. hydration products of kaempferol or luteolin， methylation products of chlorogenic acid， and hydroxylation products of baicalin） were identified in serum， urine and feces of rats. Among them， 8 prototype components and 4 metabolites were identified in serum samples； 10 prototype components and 7 metabolites were identified in urine samples； 8 prototype components and 5 metabolites were identified in the fecal samples. CONCLUSIONS The metabolites of Zhideke granules in rats mainly include baicalin， irisflorentin，chlorogenic acid， and the main metabolic pathways included methylation， hydroxylation， glucuronidation.
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OBJECTIVE：To optimize the extraction technology of Zhideke granules. ME THODS：The extraction technology （water extraction ，alcohol extraction ，water extraction and ethanol precipitation ）of Zhideke granules was initially screened by ammonia-induced cough experiment and xylene-induced ear swelling experiment in mice. Based on its preparation route ，the immersion time of medicinal materials containing volatile oil was investigated with water absorption as index firstly. The single factor test was adopted to investigate the amount of water added and the extraction time taking the volatile oil yield as index to optimize the extraction technology of medicinal materials containing volatile oil. Taking the contents of irisflorentin and total flavonoids as indicators ，on the basis of single factor investigation ，orthogonal test was adopted to examine the influence of three factors including the amount of water added ，extraction time and extraction frequency ，so as to optimize the water extraction technology of Zhideke granules and the validation tests were conducted. RESULTS ：The results of pharmacodynamics experiment showed that the cough latency of mice in water extract low-dose and high-dose groups （6.34，12.68 g/kg，by crude drug ）and water-extraction alcohol-precipitation extract high-dose group （12.68 g/kg，by crude drug ）were significantly longer than those inmodel group ，and the number of cough within 2 minutes was significantly reduced （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Compared with model group ， the ear swelling of mice in water extract low-dose and high-dose groups （6.34，12.68 g/kg，by crude drug），ethanol extract high-dose group （12.68 g/kg，by crude drug） and water-extraction alcohol-precipitation extract hig dose group （12.68 g/kg，by crude drug ） were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. The swelling inhibition rates were 42.26％，55.08％，33.49％，51.56％，39.57％ and 44.36％ in low-dose and high-dose groups of water extract ，alcohol extract ， water-extraction and alcohol-precipitation extract respectively ，indicating that the water extract had better antitussive and anti-inflammatory effects. The optimal extraction technology of volatile oil was adding 5-fold water ，soaking for 30 minutes，and extracting for 3 hours. The optimal water extraction technology was adding 12-fold water ，extracting for 3 times after soaked for 50 min，lasting for 1 h each time. Results of 3 times of validation tests showed that average content of irisflorentin in the extract obtained by optimal technology was 76.47 μg/g（RSD＝ 2.15％，n＝3）and the average content of total flavonoids was 92.45 mg/g（RSD＝0.48％，n＝3）. CONCLUSIONS ：The optimal extraction technology of Zhideke granules is stable and feasible.
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Objective:The aim of this study was to research the relationship between HPLC fingerprint and anti-inflammatory effect of Zhideke granules， and the substance basis of its anti-inflammatory effect was preliminary explored. Method:The fingerprint of 10 batches of Zhideke granules were determined by HPLC， the mobile phase was consisted of methanol-0.2% phosphoric acid solution for gradient elution with a detection wavelength of 254 nm. Similarity analysis， hierarchical cluster analysis （HCA）， principal component analysis （PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） were used to evaluate the quality difference between batches of Zhideke granules. The correlation analysis between the common peaks and the inhibition rates of Zhideke granules on ear swelling and cotton ball granuloma in mice was carried out by partial least squares （PLS）， and the peaks greatly contributing to the anti-inflammatory effect were screened out. Result:There were 31 common peaks in the HPLC fingerprint of Zhideke granules. The similarities of 10 batches samples were ≥0.992. The HCA and PCA analysis results were consistent， and the samples were divided into 3 categories. Combined with the OPLS-DA results， 15 components were the main markers affecting the differences of different batches of samples. Different batches of Zhideke granules differed in anti-inflammatory effect. The chromatographic peaks being positively correlated with the anti-inflammatory effect were mainly from Belamcandae Rhizoma and Scutellariae Radix， Chromatographic peaks 3， 6， 19， 27-30 had significant contribution to anti-inflammatory effect， of which peaks 28 and 30 were irisflorentin and wogonin. Conclusion:HPLC fingerprint combined with chemical pattern recognition method can provide a reference for systematic evaluation of the overall quality of Zhideke granules. Zhideke granules has a certain inhibitory effect on acute and chronic inflammation in mice， and the anti-inflammatory effect is the result of the combined action of various ingredients， while Belamcandae Rhizoma and Scutellariae Radix have significant significance for the anti-inflammatory effect.