Characterisation and classification of Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium varieties based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS combined with multivariate statistical analyses.

INTRODUCTION: Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP), comprising dried pericarps of Citrus reticulata Blanco and its cultivars, is popularly used for its great medicinal and dietary values. Generally, the pericarps from C. reticulate "Chachi" ("Guangchenpi" in Chinese, GCP) is considered to have superior qualities and merit premium price compared with CRP derived from other cultivars (collectively called "Chenpi" in Chinese, CP). Since its multiple origins and derived economic adulteration, it is significant to systematically compare the chemical profiles of different CRP varieties. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this work was to identify the chemical profiles of CRP from different varieties and find out potential chemical markers for differentiating GCP and CP. METHODS: In the present study, a total of 42 CRP samples from 10 varieties (including GCP and CP) were analysed by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS) for chemical profiling. Obtained MS/MS data were further employed in multivariate statistical methods to screen the main compounds which contributed to the characterisation and classification of CRP. RESULTS: As a result, 73 compounds (mainly flavonoids) were identified or tentatively characterised in these CRP samples. Based on the obtained chemical profiles data, GCP and CP samples could be easily discriminated from each other by statistical analyses. Moreover, seven compounds were selected as having the most discriminating features which contributed to the classification of CRP. CONCLUSION: This work obtains a better understanding of the chemical profiles of different CRP varieties and provides a practical strategy for the authentication of GCP and CP.

Discovery of Anti-inflammatory Ingredients in Chinese Herbal Formula Kouyanqing Granule based on Relevance Analysis between Chemical Characters and Biological Effects.

Kouyanqing Granule (KYQG) is a traditional Chinese herbal formula composed of Flos lonicerae (FL), Radix scrophulariae (RS), Radix ophiopogonis (RO), Radix asparagi (RA), and Radix et rhizoma glycyrrhizae (RG). In contrast with the typical method of separating and then biologicalily testing the components individually, this study was designed to establish an approach in order to define the core bioactive ingredients of the anti-inflammatory effects of KYQG based on the relevance analysis between chemical characters and biological effects. Eleven KYQG samples with different ingredients were prepared by changing the ratios of the 5 herbs. Thirty-eight ingredients in KYQG were identified using Ultra-fast liquid chromatography-Diode array detector-Quadrupole-Time-of-flight-Tandem mass spectrometry (UFLC-DAD-Q-TOF-MS/MS) technology. Human oral keratinocytes (HOK) were cultured for 24 hours with 5% of Cigarette smoke extract (CSE) to induce inflammation stress. Interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were evaluated after treatment with the eleven KYQG samples. Grey relational analysis(GRA), Pearson's correlations (PCC), and partial least-squares (PLS) were utilized to evaluate the contribution of each ingredient. The results indicated that KYQG significantly reduced interleukin-1ß, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, and tumour necrosis factor-α levels, in which lysine, γ-aminobutyric acid, chelidonic acid, tyrosine, harpagide, neochlorogenic acid, chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, isoquercitrin, luteolin-7-o-glucoside, 3,4-dicaffeoylquinic acid, 3,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid, angoroside C, harpagoside, cinnamic acid, and ruscogenin play a vital role.

[FTIR research on the modification of plant oil pitch binders by polyester waste].

Various plant oil pitchs (cottonseed pitch, bean oil pitch, and mixed plant oil pitch) were used to prepare the plant oil pitch binders for casting. They were treated by polyester waste and processed by several technics such as esterifying. In the mean time, FTIR and TG were adopted to learn the structure, property, and sclerous mechanism of the binders. From the comparison with synthetic fat binder, the authors can see that the treated binders have similar components. They also have many excellent properties such as higher dry tensile strength and slower deflation velocity, which equal to or even exceed the properties of synthetic fat binder. Therefore, the treated binders, which were cheaper, can be used to make class I mold and core binders.