An advanced strategy for quality evaluation of Xinyi Biyan Pill by UPLC-DAD fingerprinting combined with multi-components UPLC-MS/MS analysis.

Xinyi Biyan Pill (XBP) is a classical Chinese patent medicine and widely used to treat acute and chronic or allergic rhinitis in clinical practice. This study aimed to establish and validate a comprehensive strategy combining ultra-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (UPLC-DAD) fingerprinting and multi-component quantification for quality evaluation of XBP. In the fingerprint analysis, 32 peaks were selected as common peaks and used to evaluate the similarity of 12 batches of XBP. In addition, 141 compounds of XBP were identified or preliminarily characterized in both positive and negative ion modes by coupling with an advanced hybrid linear ion trap (LTQ)-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. Moreover, a rapid quantitative method based on UPLC tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) has been optimized and validated for simultaneous determination of 10 chemical markers within 15 min, and applied to analyzing 12 batches of XBP. The proposed comprehensive strategy combining UPLC-DAD fingerprinting and multi-component UPLC-MS/MS quantification exhibited satisfactory results with high efficiency, accuracy and reliability, which can be used as a reference for overall quality consistency evaluation of Chinese herbal formulations.

Effects of ultra-high pressure treatment on structure and bioactivity of polysaccharides from large leaf yellow tea.

In this study, the changes of structure and bioactivity of polysaccharides from large leaf yellow tea (LYTP) were investigated under ultra-high pressure (UHP). Native yellow tea polysaccharide were treatmented with ultra-high pressure (200, 400 and 600 MPa) for 5 min to yield yellow tea polysaccharide including 200 MPa-LYTP, 400 MPa-LYTP and 600 MPa-LYTP. It was found that the monosaccharide composition of LYTP changed significantly after the ultra-high pressure treatment. The molecular weight (Mw) of 200 MPa-LYTP (from 563.6 to 11.7 kDa), 400 MPa-LYTP (from 372.2 to 11.8 kDa) and 600 MPa-LYTP (from 344 to 11.6 kDa) sharply decreased upon ultra-high pressure treatment compared with LYTP (771.5 kDa), coincidentally particle size was also significantly reduced for 200 MPa-LYTP (23.2 %), 400 MPa-LYTP (40.2 %) and 600 MPa-LYTP (25.9 %). The results of the scanning electron microscope showed that ultra-high pressure also changed the surface and spatial morphology of LYTP. LYTP after ultra-high pressure treatment (UHP-LYTP) could further ameliorate alcohol-induced liver injury in mice. In addition, UHP treatment can more efficiently remove protein than the Sevages method. With the gradual removal of protein, its hepatoprotective effect increased. These findings demonstrated that UHP treatment could change the primary structure and spatial structure of LYTP, increase the content of acidic polysaccharides, and improve its bioactivity.