Determination of Illegally Used Chemical Dyes in the Chinese Herbal Medicine "Red Flower Oil".

BACKGROUND: Red flower oil is a group of herbal medicinal liniments widely used in China and Southeast Asia. The color of red flower oil is adjusted to red or brownish-red by adding natural dyes. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to identify and quantify the synthetic dyes illegally used in red flower oil. METHODS: Thirty-two batches of red flower oil (from nine manufacturers) were collected from different cities in China. High-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection-mass spectrometry (HPLC-DAD-MS) analysis was performed to identify the chemical dyes in the samples, and high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) was used to quantify the chemical dyes. RESULTS: Sudan I, Sudan IV, and Solvent Red 207 were detected in nine batches of preparations (from three manufacturers) with concentration ranges of 101.7-214.9 µg/mL for Sudan I, 24.0-41.0 µg/mL for Sudan IV, and 147.5-221.7 µg/mL for Solvent Red 207. CONCLUSION: In present study, sudan I, sudan IV, and solvent red 207 were detected in red flower oil. The control of chemical dyes in food and drug should be further studied and not limited to sudan dyes. HIGHLIGHTS: It is the first report about the detection of solvent red 207 in food and drug. The illegal use of those chemical dyes should be regarded as serious violation of good manufacturing practice (GMP) and might be dangerous for the patients.

Authentication of Processed Epimedii folium by EA-IRMS.

Processing of crude drug is a key character of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which could enhance the efficacy and/or reduce the toxicity of crude drugs to fulfill different requirements of TCM clinical practice. Epimedii folium (EF) is a widely used TCM. As a traditional method of TCM, EF is processed with refined mutton fat before being used in clinical practice. It has been reported that processing EF with mutton fat could improve the bioavailability and intestinal absorption of epimedium flavonoids and thus enhances the pharmacological effects. For economic benefits, it is possible to adulterate processed EF with unprocessed drug or process EF with cheaper plant oils. In the present study, 17 batches of crude and processed EF samples were collected from the Chinese market and 10 batches of replica processed drugs were prepared with different edible plant oils and animal fats in our laboratory. Elemental analyzer coupled with isotopic ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS) was applied to determine the δ 13C values of the cyclohexane extracts of those samples. Significant differences could be observed in the results. EA-IRMS could be used to discriminate raw EF, processed EF, and EF processed with C3 plant oils.

Screening of Chemical Dyes in Traditional Chinese Medicine by HPTLC-MS.

It has been uncovered that chemical dyes are illegally used in traditional Chinese medicines to brighten color and cover up inferiority, which threaten the safety of patients. In the present study, an HPTLC-MS method was developed for the effective screening of 11 chemical dyes (Sudan I, II, III, and IV; 808 Scarlet; Sudan Red 7B; malachite green; Basic Orange 2; auramine; Orange II; and erythrosine) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) raw materials and Chinese patent medicines. Firstly, unwashed HPTLC plates were chosen by comparing the background signals of the TLC plates used directly and prewashed with analytical grade and HPLC grade solvents. Twice developments were conducted to isolate chemical dyes of different polarity. Possible adulterants were preliminarily identified by comparing Rf values and in situ UV-Vis spectra with those of the references. Further confirmation was conducted by tandem MS analysis via an elution head-based TLC-MS interface. Sudan I and IV, 808 Scarlet, and Orange II were successfully detected in eight batches of TCM. The proposed method could be applied as a reliable technology for the screening of chemical dyes in TCM.

[Study on crocins reference extract and application on assay of Croci Stigma].

High price and poor stability of both crocin-1 and crocin-2 reference substance have become obstacles to HPLC assay of Croci Stigma. A new method based on reference extract was proposed. In this study, the reference extract was prepared from gardenia yellow which is cheap and easy to get The content of crocin-1 and crocin-2 in reference extract was determined and factors affecting stability of reference extract were investigated. Twelve batches of Croci Stigma were analyzed with reference extract and reference substance respectively. The results showed no difference. The presented method is feasible for quality control of Croci Stigma and reference extract is suitable to replace reference substances in assay.