Quality consistency evaluation of commercial Prunellae Spica by integrating determination of secondary metabolites and saccharides.

INTRODUCTION: Prunellae Spica (PS) is a commonly used medicinal herb in China. Secondary metabolites and saccharides are major bioactive components of PS. However, holistic quality consistency of commercial PS is ambiguous due to lack of comprehensive evaluation methods and reliable quality control markers. OBJECTIVES: Integrating multiple chromatographic and chemometric methods to comprehensively evaluate the holistic quality of PS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-TQ-MS/MS) was applied to quantify 12 secondary metabolites of PS. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with photodiode array/evaporative light scattering detection (HPLC-PDA/ELSD) and high-performance gel permeation chromatography (HPGPC) methods were used to characterise the saccharides. Multivariate statistical analysis was adopted to evaluate the quality consistency of commercial PS and explore the potential quality control markers. RESULTS: The contents of secondary metabolites and saccharides were significantly different among commercial PS. All samples could be classified into three groups with ferulic acid, protocatechualdehyde, gallic acid, ursolic acid/oleanolic acid, sucrose, p-coumaric acid, chlorogenic acid as the major contributing components responsible for the difference. The content of rosmarinic acid was correlated with that of betulinic acid, hyperposide, chlorogenic acid, rutin, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid and glucose, whereas polysaccharides, ferulic acid, protocatechualdehyde and ursolic acid/oleanolic acid, quercetin, sucrose and majority monosaccharides were not. CONCLUSION: The holistic quality of commercial PS was inconsistent. Together with rosmarinic acid, ferulic acid, protocatechualdehyde, ursolic acid/oleanolic acid, polysaccharides and sucrose might be recommended as potential quality control markers for the holistic quality control of PS.

Pharmacokinetic investigation of principal active constituents in renal fibrotic rats after oral administration of crude and salt-processed eucommiae cortex extracts / 药学学报

A quantitative analysis method for six principal active constituents (acubin, geniposidic acid, chlorogenic acid, pinoresinol di-O-glucopyranoside, geniposide, and pinoresinol 4-O-glucopyranoside) of crude Eucommiae Cortex (EC) and its salt-processed product extracts was developed to investigate and compare their pharmacokinetic behaviors in adenine-induced renal fibrotic rats in vivo. UHPLC-QqQ-MS/MS technology was employed. Scan was conducted in negative ion mode and quantitative determination was carried out by MRM paired ion. The established method was fully validated by specificity, linearity, precision, accuracy, stability, recovery, and matrix effect, and the results of methodological investigation met the requirements of biological sample analysis. Then, a quick, sensitive, and accurate method was successfully established, which could simultaneously measure the contents of six active constituents of crude and salt-processed EC extracts in rat plasma. After a single administration to renal fibrotic rats of crude EC and its salt-processed product extracts, the plasma concentration of each constituent at different time points was measured, the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated and the concentration time curves were structured. The experiment was approved by the experimental animal ethics committee from Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine (No. 202103A008). The results showed that compared to the crude Eucommiae Cortex group, the tmax of aucubin, pinoresinol di-O-glucopyranoside, geniposide, and pinoresinol 4-O-glucopyranoside in the salt-processed Eucommiae Cortex group rat plasma were significantly lower than those in the crude group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01); the Cmax and AUC0-48 h of chlorogenic acid, the Cmax, AUC0-48 h and AUC0-∞ of pinoresinol di-O-glucopyranoside, and the Cmax of geniposide and pinoresinol 4-O-glucopyranoside were significantly higher than those in the crude group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Our investigation found that compared to crude Eucommiae Cortex, a variety of active ingredients could play a role of quick effect with higher peak blood concentration and bioavailability after oral administration of salt-processed Eucommiae Cortex, which were consistent with the traditional Chinese medicine theory of "salt-processing enhancing drug into kidney meridian", providing an experimental basis for the selection of quality control indexes and the in-depth study of processing mechanisms and metabolic rules in vivo of Eucommiae Cortex and its salt-processed product.

SANT, a novel Chinese herbal monomer combination, decreasing tumor growth and angiogenesis via modulating autophagy in heparanase overexpressed triple-negative breast cancer.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Astragalus mongholicus, Solanum nigrum Linn, Lotus plumule, Ligusticum are widely used traditional herbal medicines for cancer treatment in China. They were typical drugs selected from Gubenyiliu II and series of formula (GYII), which were developed on the foundation of YIQIHUOXUEJIEDU theory. In the present study, four active ingredients (Astragaloside IV, α-solanine, neferine, and 2,3,5,6-tetramethylpyrazine) derived from medicines above were applied in combination as SANT. AIM OF THE STUDY: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a serious threat to women's health worldwide. Heparanase (HPSE) is often up-regulated in breast cancer with the properties of facilitating tumorigenesis and influencing the autophagy process in cancer cells. This study aimed at evaluating the anti-tumor potential of SANT in treating HPSE related TNBC both in-vitro and in-vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, we explored the correlation between HPSE expression and survival of breast cancer patients in databases. We performed MTS, trans-well and wound scratch assays to assess the impact of SANT on cell proliferation and migration. Confocal microscopy observation and western blots were applied to verify the autophagy flux induced by SANT. Mice models were employed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SANT in-vivo by tumor weights and volumes or serum index, respectively. To analyze the underlying mechanisms of SANT, we conducted human autophagy PCR array and angiogenesis proteome profiler on tumor tissues. RESULTS: Patients with elevated HPSE expression were associated with a poor outcome in both RFS (P = 1.7e-12) and OS (P = 0.00016). SANT administration significantly inhibited cancer cells' proliferation and migration, enhanced autophagy flux, and slightly reduced the active form of HPSE in-vitro. SANT also suppressed tumor growth and angiogenesis in-vivo. Human autophagy PCR array results indicated that SANT increased the ATG16L1, ATG9B, ATG4D gene expressions while decreased TMEM74 and TNF gene expressions.Angiogenesis proteome profiler results showed SANT reduced protein level of HB-EGF, thrombospondin-2, amphiregulin, leptin, IGFBP-9, EGF, coagulation factor III, and MMP-9 (pro and active form) in tumor, raised the protein expression of serpin E1 and platelet factor 4. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that herbal compounds SANT may be a promising candidate in anti-cancer drug discovery. It also provides novel strategies for using natural compounds to achieve optimized effect.

Huayu Pill () Promotes Fluorescent Doxorubicin Delivery to Tumors in Mouse Model of Lung Cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect and mechanism of Huayu Wan (, HYW) in combination of chemotherapy of tumor treatment. METHODS: HYW serum was added in Lewis cells to assess its impact on fluorescent doxorubicin delivery in vitro. Then, Lewis tumor cells was implanted in C57BL/6 mice via xenograft transplantation. Tumor growth was measured and signal intensity corresponding to blood flow was assessed by laser doppler perfusion imaging (LDPI). Finally, the effect of HYW on the effificacy of doxorubicin was studied. RESULTS: HYW can improve the transfer of fluorescent doxorubicin into cells. The blood flow signal in the tumor tissues of the HYW group was higher than that of the control group (P<0.01). Furthermore, HYW improved drug delivery of doxorubicin to tumor tissues, and this activity was associated with HYW-induced microvascular proliferation (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: HYW can promote microangiogenesis and increase blood supply in tumor tissues, which in turn may increase the risk of metastasis. At the same time, HYW increases drug delivery and improves the effificacy of chemotherapy drugs through vascular proliferation. Therefore, rational judgment must be exercised when considering applying HYW to an antitumor regimen.

Roles of processing and compatibility in antidepression of Sini Powder:a metabonomics study / 中国中药杂志

The antidepressant mechanism of Sini Powder was investigated by metabonomics based on UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS, and the roles of processing and compatibility in the antidepression of Sini Powder were discussed in the present study. The chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS) model of depression was induced in the model group, the Bupleuri Radix group, the Paeoniae Radix Alba group, the herb-pair group(Bupleuri Radix-Paeoniae Radix Alba), the Sini Powder group, and the vinegar-processed Sini Powder group(Bupleuri Radix and Paeoniae Radix Alba were vinegar-processed). After the establishment of the model, the rats in each group were continuously administered with corresponding drugs(ig) at a dose of 9.6 g·kg~(-1) for eight days [the rats in the model group and the normal group(without model induction) received the same volume of normal saline at the same time]. Following the last administration, the differential metabolites were identified to analyze metabolic pathways based on the rat plasma samples collected from each group. A total of sixteen potential biomarkers were identified. The metabolites with significant changes were involved in many biological metabolic pathways, such as amino acid metabolism, pentose phosphate pathway, glycerol phospholipid metabolism, sphingolipid metabolism, and purine metabolism. After drug intervention, some biomarkers returned to normal levels. Further comparisons of processing and compatibility revealed that the vinegar-processed Sini Powder group had the most total metabolic pathways where differential metabolites were returned to normal. Compared with the individual herbs, the herb-pair significantly improved the recovery of differential metabolites in the pentose phosphate and purine metabolic pathways. Compared with the Sini Powder, the vinegar-processed Sini Powder facilitated the recovery of differential metabolites in the arginine biosynthesis, and pyrimidine and pentose phosphate metabolic pathways. As indicated by the results, Sini Powder may interfere with depression by regulating lipid and nucleotide metabolisms. The processing and compatibility of Chinese herbal medicines can potentiate the intervention on depression by regulating nucleotide, energy, and amino acid metabolisms to a certain extent.

Analysis of Chemical Constituents of Volatile Oils in Menthae Haplocalycix Herba-Schizonepetae Herba and Herbal Pairs and Comparison of Anti-bacterial Effects in Vitro / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To discuss the effect of herbal compatibility on the components of volatile oils in Menthae Haplocalycix Herba and Schizonepetae Herba,and the comparison of the anti-bacterial effects in vitro,in order to provide the experimental basis for investigating the effective material basis of their herb-pair. Method: Steam distillation was used to extract volatile oils of Menthae Haplocalycix Herba, Schizonepetae Herba,and their combination. GC-MS was employed to analyze their volatile oils,and the anti-bacterial effects in vitro were compared. Result: Totally 50 compounds were identified from the volatile oils of Menthae Haplocalycix Herba;41 compounds were identified from the volatile oils of Schizonepetae Herba;and 60 compounds were identified from the volatile oils of their herbal pairs. A total of 27 common compounds were found in the samples of three volatile oils. Totally 5 new compounds were detected in the volatile oils of their herbal pairs,and 9 compounds were not detected. In vitro,volatile oils of both their herbal pairs and individual herbs had bacteriostatic effects on dung Enterococcus (ATCC2922),Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC2923),Escherichia coli (ATCC35218),and E. coli (ATCC25922). Among them,volatile oils of their herbal pairs had stronger bacteriostatic effects on dung enterococcus (ATCC2922) and staphylococcus aureus (ATCC2923) than volatile oils of individual herbs. Moreover,the order of the inhibitory effects of volatile oils on E. coli (ATCC35218 and ATCC25922) were "herbal pairs=peppermint > herba schizonepetae". Conclusion: There were some changes between the volatile oils of individual herbs and the volatile oils of their herbal pairs. These phenomena may be caused by the occurrence of certain chemical reactions and physical changes in compatibility of decocting process. The antibacterial effects of volatile oils of their herbal pairs were better than those of individual herbs in vitro.

Problems and solutions in modern research of traditional Chinese herbal pieces processing technology / 中国中药杂志

Chinese medicine processing is the main feature that distinguishes traditional Chinese medicine from natural medicine and plant medicine, and is the main feature in clinical medication of traditional Chinese medicine. The research of Chinese medicine processing technology is an important link to realize standardization and standardization of Chinese herbal pieces, with urgent need to attract high attention. At present, there are still many problems in the research of processing technology of Chinese herbal pieces, mainly including inconsistent processing technology, large differences in process technology parameters, and unstable production technology of Chinese herbal pieces, resulting in uncontrollable quality of Chinese herbal pieces and affecting the clinical efficacy of Chinese medicine. This paper focused on the establishment of a unified standard processing technology, and put forward the countermeasures for the processing technology of Chinese medicine based on a comprehensive analysis of the current situations of the processing technology of Chinese herbal pieces, with significance for guiding the establishment of a standardized processing technology of Chinese medicine.

Research progress on antidepressant effects of Sini San based on three progressive levels of "single herb, herb-pair, and complicated Chinese herbal formula" / 中国中药杂志

Depression is a kind of mental illness accompanied by complex etiology and pathogenesis in clinic. With the quickening pace of circadian rhythm and increase of life pressure in modern society, the incidence of depression is increasing year by year. Nowadays, some typical antidepressant Western medicines, such as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRI) and tricyclic antidepressants (TCA), have been used as the main therapeutic drugs in clinic. Unfortunately, administration of these drugs will result in severe adverse reactions, slow treatments, and low cure rates, thus obviously they can not be used for a long term. Sini San, which originated from written by Zhang zhongjing, is a prescription widely applied in clinic for curing mental illness and also a basic Chinese herbal formula for modern treatment of depression. This article would review the research progress on antidepressant effects of Sini San based on single herbs of Bupleuri Radix and Paeoniae Radix Alba, herb-pair of Bupleuri Radix-Paeoniae Radix Alba, and formula of Sini San, providing directions and ideas for future research on complicated Chinese herbal formulae.

Anti-colorectal cancer effects of tripolinolate A from Tripolium vulgare.

Tripolinolate A (TLA) is recently identified as a new compound from a halophyte plant Tripolium vulgare and has been shown to have significant in vitro activity against the proliferation of colorectal cancer and glioma cells. This study was designed to further investigate the effects of TLA on the proliferation of human normal cells, and the apoptosis and cell cycle in colorectal cancer cells, and the growth of tumors in the colorectal cancer-bearing animals. The data obtained from this study demonstrated that: 1) TLA had much less cytotoxicity in the human normal cells than the colorectal cancer cells; 2) TLA remarkably induced apoptosis in the human colorectal cancer cells and blocked cell cycle at G2/M phase, and 3) TLA had significant anti-colorectal cancer activity in the tumor-bearing animals.

Qualitative analysis of a sulfur-fumigated Chinese herbal medicine by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography and high-resolution time of flight mass spectrometry using colorized fuzzy difference data processing / 中国结合医学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the chemical transformation of volatile compounds in sulfur-fumigated Radix Angelicae Sinensis.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC×GC) and high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HR-TOF/MS) with colorized fuzzy difference (CFD) method was used to investigate the effect of sulfur-fumigation on the volatile components from Radix Angelicae Sinensis.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Twenty-five compounds that were found in sun-dried samples disappeared in sulfur-fumigated samples. Seventeen volatile components including two sulfur-containing compounds were newly generated for the first time in volatile oils of sulfur-fumigated Radix Angelicae Sinensis.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The strategy can be successfully applied to rapidly and holistically discriminate sun-dried and sulfur-fumigated Radix Angelicae Sinensis. GC×GC-HR-TOF/MS based CFD is a powerful and feasible approach for the global quality evaluation of Radix Angelicae Sinensis as well as other herbal medicines.</p>

Anti-colorectal cancer effects of tripolinolate A from Tripolium vulgare / 中国天然药物

Tripolinolate A (TLA) is recently identified as a new compound from a halophyte plant Tripolium vulgare and has been shown to have significant in vitro activity against the proliferation of colorectal cancer and glioma cells. This study was designed to further investigate the effects of TLA on the proliferation of human normal cells, and the apoptosis and cell cycle in colorectal cancer cells, and the growth of tumors in the colorectal cancer-bearing animals. The data obtained from this study demonstrated that: 1) TLA had much less cytotoxicity in the human normal cells than the colorectal cancer cells; 2) TLA remarkably induced apoptosis in the human colorectal cancer cells and blocked cell cycle at G/M phase, and 3) TLA had significant anti-colorectal cancer activity in the tumor-bearing animals.

Association between chemical composition of essential oil with penetration enhancement effect and drug properties of traditional Chinese medicine / 中国中药杂志

The results of previous studies showed potential correlations between the penetration enhancement effect of essential oils and the drug properties of traditional Chinese medicine based on the data mining method. As chemical composition is the material basis of drug properties of traditional Chinese medicine, this article further analyzed the correlation between the chemical composition of essential oils and the drug properties. Firstly, essential oils were extracted by steam distillation, and then physicochemical parameters of essential oils, such as relative density and refractive index, were measured. The chemical components of 20 essential oils were analyzed by GC-MS, and divided into 12 categories according to skeleton features and functional groups. Finally, Logistic regression analysis was applied to reveal the correlations. The results proved that five flavors, four tastes and channel tropisms showed the correlation with chemical composition of essential oils (P<0.05). In conclusion, there were obvious correlations and regularity between the drug properties of traditional Chinese medicine and the chemical composition of essential oils.

A new strategy for exploring herb-pair investigation with a case study on Astragali Radix-Corni Fructus in treatment of diabetic nephropathy / 中国中药杂志

As the smallest unit of traditional Chinese medicinal formula compatibility, herb-pair has the basic characteristic of traditional Chinese medicinal formula compatibility. In recent years, herb-pair investigation has attracted much attention, which is an indispensable part of modernization of traditional Chinese medicine. With the decrease of the efficiency in the discovery of new drug, how to discover new drugs from traditional Chinese medicinal herb-pair has also been a bottleneck for the research and development of drug. The authors reviewed the domestic and foreign literatures in the latest years and summarized the current situations and the existing problems of herb-pair study. Based on these investigations, the authors innovatively proposed a novel concept of "precision herb-pair". Difference from traditional Chinese medicinal herb-pair or formulae with extensive roles and unclear efficacies, "precision herb-pair" belongs to a developed new mini herb-pair formula with an exact treatment and a relatively clear composition based on a certain specific disease. In addition, the authors also proposed a new strategy of "herb-pair - screen of multiple constituents based on column separation and in vitro cell viability - fuzzy target recognition pharmacology - re-evaluation of precision herb-pair", and successfully applied it to the development of a precision herb-pair from Astragali Radix-Corni Fructus in treatment of diabetic nephropathy. This proposed new strategy is simple, easy to carry out, and has a wide application, and can offer references and thoughts for the modern investigation of herb-pair and the research and development of new drug.

Establishment and application of HPLC-QAMS for quality evaluation of Chuanxiong Rhizoma / 药学学报

A quantitative analysis method of multi-components with a single marker (QAMS) for simultaneous determination of six marker compounds (one from phenolic acids and five from phthalides) in Chuanxiong Rhizoma was established by applying HPLC and using butylidenephthalide as the internal reference substance. And also the feasibility and accuracy of the established method for quality evaluation and application of Chuanxiong Rhizoma were investigated and validated. The analysis was performed with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile - 0.2% aqueous formic acid. The flow rate was 1.0 mL . min-1 and the column temperature was maintained at 30 °C. The detection wavelengths were set at 252 nm (for ferulic acid, Z-ligustilide, and butylidenephthalide) and 266 nm (for senkyunolide I, senkyunolide A, and coniferyl ferulate), separately, and 20 µL was injected for analysis with gradient elution. The results showed that there were no significant differences observed between the HPLC-QAMS method and the external standard method (RSD <5%). The relative correction factors were credible (RSD < 5%) in changed chromatographic conditions. The established HPLC-QAMS method can be accurately used for simultaneously evaluating and controlling the quality of Chuanxiong Rhizoma with multi-components.

Research status and prospect of primary processing of traditional Chinese medicinal materials / 中国中药杂志

The primary processing is important links and closely related to the quality of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, and is not only cleaning of remove the non-officinal parts, drying for termination the physiological status of organisms, but also retaining the most active substances, decreasing the toxic components, and promoting the transformation among chemical ingredients through primary processing. So the traditional primary processing endows with characters, quality, specifications and properties of traditional Chinese medicine, and embodies some important science truth. The traditional primary processing method and technology systems are derived from the long-term practices and experiences, which are distinctive, colorful, diverse, and scientific, which are helpful to development and utilization of traditional Chinese medicine resources. This paper systemically expounds the research status of the Chinese medicine processing method, summarizes the problems in the primary processing of traditional Chinese medicinal materials research, and prospects its bright future.

Optimization of the processing technology of Fructus Arctii by response surface methodology / 中国天然药物

The present study was designed to optimize the processing of Fructus Arctii by response surface methodology (RSM). Based on single factor studies, a three-variable, three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) was used to monitor the effects of independent variables, including processing temperature and time, on the dependent variables. Response surfaces and contour plots of the contents of total lignans, chlorogenic acid, arctiin, and arctigenin were obtained through ultraviolet and visible (UV-Vis) monitoring and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Fructus Arctii should be processed under heating in a pot at 311 °C, medicine at 119 °C for 123s with flipping frequently. The experimental values under the optimized processing technology were consistent with the predicted values. In conclusion, RSM is an effective method to optimize the processing of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Research on chemical reactions during ginseng processing / 中国中药杂志

As a kind of commonly used traditional Chinese medicine, ginseng has a high reputation at home and abroad. The research of ginseng has been expanded to medicine, pharmacy, biology, food science and other fields, with great achievements in recent years. Ginseng contains ginsenosides, volatile oil, carbohydrates, amino acids, polypeptides, inorganic elements and othser chemical constituents. Each component has extensive physiological activity, and is the base of ginseng's effect. After processing, the complicated changes are taken place in the constituents of ginseng, and some new substances produced. This paper aims to review the studies on chemical constituents and their mechanisms during ginseng processing, and the ideas, methods and the direction of the development of traditional Chinese medicine processing in the future.

Development and validation of a HPLC-UV-ESI-MS method for the simultaneous quantitation of ten bioactive compounds in Dahuang Fuzi Tang / 中国天然药物

AIM@#To develop a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and ultraviolet (UV) detector method for the acid-alkaline simultaneous determination of ten bioactive compounds, and analyze the effect of compatible medicinal plants on the concentration of components in Dahuang Fuzi Tang (DFT).@*METHOD@#The chromatographic separation was performed on a Hypersil BDS C18 analytical column by gradient elution with acetonitrile and formate buffer (containing 0.15% formic acid, V/V) at 25 °C with a flow rate of 1.0 mL·min(-1) and UV detection at 280 nm. Four of the ten compounds in DFT were identified and their MS fragments were elucidated by HPLC-ESI-MS, and the contents of the six compounds were determined by HPLC-UV.@*RESULTS@#All calibration curves showed good linear regression (r(2) ≥ 0.9990). The limits of detection and limits of quantification were 0.021-0.155 -g·mL(-1) and 0.076-0.520 -g·mL(-1), respectively. Overall precision RSD (intra-day and inter-day) were less than 2.96%, and the average recoveries were 98.35%-101.45%, with RSD ranging from 1.54% to 3.01% for the analytes.@*CONCLUSION@#The developed method can be applied for the quality control and provide analytical evidence on the chemical basis and combinational principles of DFT.

Optimization of extraction process for Baizhu Shaoyao San by multi-index orthogonal experiment / 中国中药杂志

Baizhu Shaoyao San is a famous traditional Chinese medicine formula, which is efficient to diarrhea clinically. However, there are very few reports for extraction process of Baizhu Shaoyao San at present. In this article, an orthogonal test was conducted, with 10 major components and extractum of Baizhu Shaoyao San as indexes, and data was processed by the compound weight method, in order to detect four factors, including the concentration of ethanol, the dosage of ethanol, the soaking and extracting times, and optimize the extraction process of Baizhu Shaoyao San. The results showed that the optimal extraction process was adding 12-fold ethanol of 70% concentration, soaking for 1 hours, and extracting for twice, 2 hours each time. Among the indexes, the extracting time made significant impact. The optimized method is stable and reliable, and can provide reference for further development and utilization of the formula.

Sulfur-fumigation, maintenance method of Chinese herbal medicine-discard or inheritance / 中国中药杂志

Sulfur-fumigation processing technology is an ancient maintenance method, which plays a certain role in storage and preservation for Chinese herbal medicine. But in recent years, with the further explanation of sulfur-fumigation processing mechanism and more attention to the safety of drugs, such traditional maintenance method of Chinese herbal medicine is now being questioned by more and more people. The authors think we should have selective inheritance rather than abslute discard to this ancient processing technology after reviewing the literatures published in recent 20 years, and some suggestions are also put forward, which can supply some references for related drug supervision departments.