[Dynamic changes of volatile components of Qiai from different harvest time based on GC-MS and chemometrics analysis].

Artemisiae Argyi Folium, the dried leaves of Artemisia argyi, has been widely used in traditional Chinese and folk medicines for a long time. Qiai is one of the top-geoherb of Artemisiae Argyi Folium. Qiai contains various bioactive constituents, such as volatile oils, phenolic acids, flavonoids and terpenoids. Phytochemical studies demonstrated that volatile compounds are the main bioactive constituents in Qiai. Try to investigate dynamic changes of volatile components of Qiai from different harvest time and explore the optimum harvest time of Qiai, in this study, the contents of total volatile oils in Qiai collected from five different harvest time were analyzed by steam distillation method. The results showed that the contents of volatile oils of Qiai were higher in the third harvest time(around the Dragon Boat Festival), which is basically consistent with the traditional harvest time. Furthermore, a sensitive method based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) was established for qualitative analysis of volatile compounds in Qiai, and a total of thirty volatile compounds were identified. Chemometrics methods including principal component analysis(PCA) and orthogonal partial least-squares discriminate analysis(OPLS-DA) were applied to explore chemical markers and dynamic changes of volatile components in Qiai from different harvest time, and the results indicated that there were obvious differences in the relative contents of volatile compounds of Qiai samples from different harvest time. Eight volatile compounds, including α-terpinene, γ-terpinene, D-camphor, trans-carveol, α-copaene, isobornylisobutyrate, humulene, and caryophyllene oxide were selected as potential chemical markers. Among the eight chemical markers, the relative contents of α-terpinene, γ-terpinene, α-copaene and caryophyllene oxide were higher in the third harvest period(around the Dragon Boat Festival), which is consistent with the contents of total volatile oils. The present study could provide the basis for investigating the optimum harvest time of Qiai, and might be useful for the quality control of this herbal medicine.

[Study on difference of chemical constituents of Qiai in different harvest periods].

Artemisiae Argyi Folium,the dried leaves of Artemisia argyi,has been widely used in traditional Chinese and folk medicines for a long time. Qiai is one of the top-geoherb of Artemisiae Argyi Folium. Trying to investigate dynamic changes of chemical components of Qiai in different harvest periods and explore the optimum harvest time of Qiai,in this study,the contents of total flavonoids and total phenolic acids of 36 batches of Qiai collected in 6 different harvest periods were analyzed by ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometry. Furthermore,an HPLC method was applied for simultaneous determination of eight bioactive compounds including six phenolic acids( 5-caffeoylquinic acid,3-caffeoylquinic acid,4-caffeoylquinic acid,3,4-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid,3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid and 4,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid) and two flavonoids( jaceosidin and eupatilin) in Qiai samples. The quantitative results indicated that there were some differences in the contents of total flavonoids,total phenolic acids and bioactive compounds of Qiai samples in different harvest periods. The dynamic changes of total flavonoids and total phenolic acids of Qiai in different harvest periods were consistent. The contents of total flavonoids and total phenolic acids of Qiai samples were higher in the third harvest period( around the Dragon Boat Festival),which is basically consistent with the traditional harvest periods. This present study can provide the basis for determining the suitable harvest time of Qiai,and might be useful for the quality evaluation of this herbal medicine.

Comparison of Artemisiae argyi Folium and Artemisiae lavandulaefoliae Folium by simultaneous determination of multi-components with single reference standard method and chemometric analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Artemisiae argyi Folium and Artemisiae lavandulaefoliae Folium, two morphologically similar herbal medicines derived from Artemisia genus. Although the two Artemisia herbs have been used as medicines for a long time in China, the study of their phytochemical and bioactive composition is limited. OBJECTIVE: To comprehensively compare and evaluate the composition of Artemisiae argyi Folium and Artemisiae lavandulaefoliae Folium, and find the chemical makers for quality evaluation of the two Artemisia herbal medicines. METHODOLOGY: Eight compounds including six phenolic acids and two flavonoids were assayed by a single reference standard for simultaneous determination of multi-components method using 3-caffeoylquinic acid as the reference standard. The quantitative data were further analysed by chemometric approaches to compare and distinguish the two herbal medicines. RESULTS: The credibility and feasibility of the single reference standard for simultaneous determination of the multi-components method were carefully validated. The validated method was applied to analyse 16 batches of Artemisiae argyi Folium and 10 batches of Artemisiae lavandulaefoliae Folium samples. The quantitative results showed that 3,5-di-O-caffeoylquinic acid was the most abundant constituent, and the contents of flavonoids were notably different between the two herbal medicines. The chemometric analysis results indicated the two flavonoids, jaceosidin and eupatilin could be used as chemical markers for quality evaluation of the two herbal medicines. CONCLUSION: The single reference standard for simultaneous determination of the multi-components method coupled with chemometrics analysis could be a well-acceptable strategy to compare and evaluate the quality of Artemisiae argyi Folium and Artemisiae lavandulaefoliae Folium.

[Quality evaluation of Taraxaci Herba based on fingerprint analysis and quantitative analysis of multi-components].

Taraxaci Herba was derived from the dried Herba of Taraxacum mongolicum, T. borealisinense and several species from the Taraxacum genus. Taraxaci Herba has been widely used in traditional Chinese and folk medicines. According to the different growth and cultivation pattern, Taraxaci Herba could be divided into two species, wild Taraxaci Herba and cultivated Taraxaci Herba. In the present study, an accurate and reliable fingerprint approach was developed using high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) for quality control of Taraxaci Herba. A total of 9 common peaks were marked, and the similarity of all the Taraxaci Herba samples was above 0.960. The established fingerprint method could be used for quality control of Taraxaci Herba. Furthermore, an HPLC method was established for simultaneous determination of six bioactive compounds, including monocaffeoyl tartaric acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, cichoric acid, 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and luteolin in wild Taraxaci Herba and cultivated Taraxaci Herba. Moreover,chemometrics analysis such as principal component analysis and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis were performed to compare and discriminate the wild samples and cultivated samples based on the quantitative data. The chemometrics results indicated that 4,5-dicaffeoylquinic acid and luteolin were significant to effectively discriminate the wild Taraxaci Herba and cultivated Taraxaci Herba samples, and these two compounds could be recognized as chemical markers for quality evaluation of wild Taraxaci Herba and cultivated Taraxaci Herba. The fingerprint analysis and quantitative analysis of multi-components could be a well-acceptable strategy for evaluation the quality of Taraxaci Herba.