Network pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses identify the intersection genes and mechanism of Huang Bai for recurrent aphthous stomatitis.

Recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) are complex inflammatory diseases caused by multi-factors, which severely impact patient quality of life. However, there is still no effective treatment method for RAS without side effects. Traditionally, Cortex Phellodendri known as "Huang Bai" was used to treat RAS for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties in China. Network pharmacology methods and bioinformatics analysis were utilized to search and fish incorporating target. Network analysis and silico validation were used to discover the pharmacological mechanisms of "Huang Bai" for the treatment of RAS. A total of 25 active ingredients in HB, 200 drug targets, and 578 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between Recurrent aphthous stomatitis and normal samples were obtained. The Gene Ontology enrichment analysis revealed that the immune response was the most significantly enriched term within the DEGs. The KEGG pathway analysis identified 60 significant pathways, most of which involved in the inhibition of inflammation and regulation of immunological response. The functions are dependent on a multi-pathway, particularly the TNF signaling pathway and the HIF-1 signaling pathway. We identified six hub genes in the PPI network, most of which were validated as highly expressed in oral ulcers by DiseaseMeth databases. In addition, molecular docking displayed that the primary molecule combined well with the key targets. "Huang Bai" contains potential anti-RAS active compounds. This study reflects the multi-component multi-target multi-pathway action characteristics of "Huang Bai." Our study provides potential biomarkers or treatment targets for further research.

Deciphering the Q-markers of nourishing kidney-yin of Cortex Phellodendri amurense from ZhibaiDihuang pill based on Chinmedomics strategy.

BACKGROUND: Cortex Phellodendri amurensis (CPA) has high medicinal value in the treatment of kidney-yin deficiency diseases. However, due to the lack of research on the therapeutic material basis of CPA, the current quality control standard for CPA is defective, and the effect of the nourishing kidney-yin of CPA was limited. PURPOSE: Based on the principle of correspondence between the syndrome and prescriptions, we studied the CPA in ZhibaiDihuang pill (ZBDH) to identify quality markers (Q-markers) of CPA in ZBDH for treating kidney-yin deficiency and seek the potential Q-markers of CPA under nourishing kidney-yin effect combined with the analysis of single CPA. METHODS: Taking Chinmedomics as the core strategy, metabonomics analysis and effective component identification were performed by UPLC-MS. RESULTS: A total of 121 chemical components of ZBDH were identified, among which the contents of berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine and magnoflorine changed the most obviously with the addition of CPA. Forty-five components were identified in the blood in the markedly effective state, including berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine and magnoflorine. The therapeutic material basis of ZBDH in the treatment of kidney-yin deficiency was found, and 6 components were found to derive from CPA, including magnoflorine and jatrorrhizine. In addition, seventeen components were identified in the blood in the single CPA treatment, including berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine and magnoflorine. CONCLUSIONS: Magnoflorine and jatrorrhizine were the Q-markers of CPA for treating kidney-yin deficiency in the formula of ZBDH and they were also potential Q-markers of the nourishing kidney-yin of CPA.

Effects of Cortex Phellodendri extract on post-weaning piglets diarrhoea.

The diarrhoea incidence rate is often high among weaning piglets. In light of the fact that Cortex phellodendri has long been used to treat diarrhoea in China, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of Cortex Phellodendri Extract (CPE) on diarrhoea in weaning piglets and the mechanism behind such effects. In the first trial, 36 diarrhoeal weaning piglets were randomly divided into three groups. The control group was injected with 20 mg oxytetracycline/kg BW, while the two treatment groups were orally administered with 10 mg and 20 mg CPE/kg BW respectively. In the second trial, 96 weaning piglets were randomly divided into two groups. The control group was fed basal diet, while 300 mg CPE/kg BW was added to the diet of the treatment group. The pathogenic bacteria were then isolated and identified from the diarrhoeal faecal samples. Cell adhesion and RT-PCR tests were used to investigate the effect of CPE on the adhesion of pathogenic bacteria to IPEC-J2 cells. 16S rDNA-based high-throughput sequencing was used to analyse faecal microflora. The results showed that CPE reduced the diarrhoea incidence rate (p < 0.05) and diarrhoea index (p < 0.05) compared to control group, and increased the richness and evenness of weaning piglets' gut microbiota. Escherichia coli (E. coil) was identified as the causative organism. Cell adhesion and RT-PCR tests suggested that CPE reduced the adhesion of E. coli to IPEC-J2 cells (p < 0.05) and the expression of fae and faeG gene (p < 0.05) responsible for encoding E. coli fimbriae protein.

Cortex Phellodendri extract's anti-diarrhea effect in mice related to its modification of gut microbiota.

Cortex Phellodendri extract (CPE) has been used in China to treat diarrhea whereas the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Given that dysbiosis of gut microbiota is a potential reason for diarrhea, and that oral CPE has a low absorption rate in intestine, we hypothesized that modification of gut microbiota is an important factor in CPE's anti-diarrhea effect. To test this hypothesis, we established a diarrhea model by challenging post-weaning mice with oral Enterotoxigenic-Escherichia coli (ETEC), and then the mice were treated with two doses of CPE (80 mg/kg bodyweight and 160 mg/kg bodyweight) or the vehicle control (phosphate buffered saline). Diarrhea indices, inflammatory factors, morphology of jejunum, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and serum endocrine were determined. Modification of gut microbiota was analyzed using 16S rDNA high-throughput sequencing. The changes in functional profiles of gut microbiota were predicted using software PICRUSt. We then explored the association between CPE-responding bacteria and the symptoms indices with the spearman's rank correlation coefficient and significance test. Compared with diarrheal mice, CPE decreased Gut/Carcass ratio and water content of stool, increased goblet cell density and villus height/crypt depth of jejunum, as well as decreased inflammatory indices (Tumour Necrosis Factor-α, Myeloperoxidase and Interleukin-1α). CPE shifted the gut microbiota significantly by increasing alpha diversity (observed species, ace, Shannon, and Simpson) and restoring the gut microbiota. CPE increased Firmicutes and decreased Bacteroidetes. The reduced genus Prevotella, Acinetobacter, and Morganella were positively associated with the diarrhea indices, whereas increased genus Odoribacter, Rikenella, and Roseburia were negatively associated with the diarrhea indices. The abundance of carbohydrate metabolism-related gene and SCFAs-producing bacteria were increased, which was evidenced by increased butyric acid and total SCFAs concentration in the caecum. Consequently, endocrine peptides glucagon-like peptide-1, epidermal growth factor, and peptide tyrosine tyrosine in serum were elevated. CONCLUSIONS: CPE shows a shift function on the gut microbiota in alleviating the diarrhea of mice in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the microbial metabolites SCFAs may mediate CPE's anti-diarrhea effect by enhancing endocrine secretion in mice.

High-efficient extraction of principal medicinal components from fresh Phellodendron bark (cortex phellodendri).

There are three key medicinal components (phellodendrine, berberine and palmatine) in the extracts of Phellodendron bark, as one of the fundamental herbs of traditional Chinese medicine. Different extraction methods and solvent combinations were investigated to obtain the optimal technologies for high-efficient extraction of these medicinal components. RESULTS: The results showed that combined solvents have higher extracting effect of phellodendrine, berberine and palmatine than single solvent, and the effect of ultrasonic extraction is distinctly better than those of distillation and soxhlet extraction. CONCLUSION: The hydrochloric acid/methanol-ultrasonic extraction has the best effect for three medicinal components of fresh Phellodendron bark, providing an extraction yield of 103.12 mg/g berberine, 24.41 mg/g phellodendrine, 1.25 mg/g palmatine.

Anti-inflammatory Effects of the Natural Compounds Cortex Phellodendri and Humulus japonicus on Pelvic Inflammatory Disease in Mice.

Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) is an inflammatory and/or infectious disorder of the upper female genital tract, including the uterus, fallopian tubes, and adjacent pelvic structures, that may spread upward to the peritoneum. Currently available treatment options have presented to produce adverse effects of various degrees, such as increased antimicrobial resistance and a limited effective duration of hormones. In the study, the Cortex Phellodendri (CP) and Humulus japonicus (HJ) among natural compounds that are believed to present biological activities with fewer side effects were tested in a PID animal model. The results suggested that the administration CP and HJ reduced clinical signs, inflammatory cytokine expression as well as secretion in uterine tissue, and neutrophil infiltration into the tissue.

Inhibitory effects of an aqueous extract from Cortex Phellodendri on the growth and replication of broad-spectrum of viruses in vitro and in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Cortex Phellodendri (C. Phellodendri), the dried trunk bark of Phellodendron amurense Ruprecht, has been known as a traditional herbal medicine, showing several bioactivities. However, antiviral activity of C. Phellodendri aqueous extract (CP) not reported in detail, particularly aiming the prophylactic effectiveness. METHODS: In vitro CP antiviral activity evaluated against Influenza A virus (PR8), Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV), Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV), Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Coxsackie Virus (H3-GFP) and Enterovirus-71 (EV-71) infection on immune (RAW264.7) and epithelial (HEK293T/HeLa) cells. Such antiviral effects were explained by the induction of antiviral state which was determined by phosphorylation of signal molecules, secretion of IFNs and cytokines, and cellular antiviral mRNA expression. Furthermore, Compounds present in the aqueous fractions confirmed by HPLC analysis and evaluated their anti-viral activities. Additionally, in vivo protective effect of CP against divergent influenza A subtypes was determined in a BALB/c mouse infection model. RESULTS: An effective dose of CP significantly reduced the virus replication both in immune and epithelial cells. Mechanically, CP induced mRNA expression of anti-viral genes and cytokine secretion in both RAW264.7 and HEK293T cells. Furthermore, the main compound identified was berberine, and shows promising antiviral properties similar to CP. Finally, BALB/c mice treated with CP displayed higher protection levels against lethal doses of highly pathogenic influenza A subtypes (H1N1, H5N2, H7N3 and H9N2). CONCLUSION: CP including berberine play an immunomodulatory role with broad spectrum antiviral activity, due to induction of antiviral state via type I IFN stimulation mechanism. Consequently, C. Phellodendri could be a potential source for promising natural antivirals or to design other antiviral agents for animal and humans.

Pharmacokinetic studies of phellodendrine in rat plasma and tissues after intravenous administration using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

Phellodendrine, a quaternary ammonium alkaloid extracted from the dried bark of Phellodendrom chinensis Schneid and Phellodendrom amurense Rupr, has the effect of suppressing cellular immune response, reducing blood pressure and antinephritis. However, few investigations have been conducted for the pharmacokinetic study of phellodendrine. Thus, a rapid, simple and reliable ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (UHPLC-QQQ MS/MS) method has been established for quantification of phellodendrine in rat plasma and tissues by using magnoflorine as internal standard. The chromatographic separation was achieved on an Agilent ZORBAX SB-C18 column (4.6mm×50mm, 1.8µm) by gradient elution using 0.1% aqueous formic acid (A) and methanol (B). Triple quadrupole mass detection with multiple reaction monitoring mode was used to monitor the ion transitions, at m/z 342.20→192.20 for phellodendrine and m/z 342.20→58.20 for internal standard, respectively. The developed method was fully validated and successfully applied to the pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution study of phellodendrine after intravenous administration. The lower limits of quantification were 0.5ng/mL for plasma samples, 2.5ng/g for brain and 1ng/g for other tested tissues. Precisions and accuracy values were within the Food and Drug Administration acceptance criteria, the recovery and matrix effects were between 87.8-113.5%. The area under the curve (AUC0-t) ranged from 15.58 to 57.41mg/L min and Cmax were between 1.63-4.93mg/L. The results showed that phellodendrine was eliminated in 120min in plasma and most of tissues and the highest concentrations of phellodendrine were found in the kidney. This study may provide a basis for the further study of phellodendrine.

Chemical Discrimination of Cortex Phellodendri amurensis and Cortex Phellodendri chinensis by Multivariate Analysis Approach.

BACKGROUND: As herbal medicines have an important position in health care systems worldwide, their current assessment, and quality control are a major bottleneck. Cortex Phellodendri chinensis (CPC) and Cortex Phellodendri amurensis (CPA) are widely used in China, however, how to identify species of CPA and CPC has become urgent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, multivariate analysis approach was performed to the investigation of chemical discrimination of CPA and CPC. RESULTS: Principal component analysis showed that two herbs could be separated clearly. The chemical markers such as berberine, palmatine, phellodendrine, magnoflorine, obacunone, and obaculactone were identified through the orthogonal partial least squared discriminant analysis, and were identified tentatively by the accurate mass of quadruple-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. A total of 29 components can be used as the chemical markers for discrimination of CPA and CPC. Of them, phellodenrine is significantly higher in CPC than that of CPA, whereas obacunone and obaculactone are significantly higher in CPA than that of CPC. CONCLUSION: The present study proves that multivariate analysis approach based chemical analysis greatly contributes to the investigation of CPA and CPC, and showed that the identified chemical markers as a whole should be used to discriminate the two herbal medicines, and simultaneously the results also provided chemical information for their quality assessment. SUMMARY: Multivariate analysis approach was performed to the investigate the herbal medicineThe chemical markers were identified through multivariate analysis approachA total of 29 components can be used as the chemical markers. UPLC-Q/TOF-MS-based multivariate analysis method for the herbal medicine samples Abbreviations used: CPC: Cortex Phellodendri chinensis, CPA: Cortex Phellodendri amurensis, PCA: Principal component analysis, OPLS-DA: Orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis, BPI: Base peaks ion intensity.

Determination of cytotoxicity of traditional Chinese medicine herbs, Rhizoma coptidis, Radix scutellariae, and Cortex phellodendri, by three methods.

BACKGROUND: Many herbs are used in traditional Chinese medicine TCM) for treatment of infections but their properties, in particular, their effects on normal cells have received little attention. This study investigated the cytotoxic properties of three TCM herbs with potential use in prevention and treatment of ocular infections, including Acanthamoeba keratitis. METHOD: The study investigated cytotoxic effects of the herbal extracts of Rhizoma coptidis, Radix scutellariae, and Cortex phellodendri on human corneal epithelial cells using trypan blue staining, MTT production, and flow cytometry. Differences between herbs were determined using repeated measures one-way analysis of variance, followed by paired t-tests where appropriate. RESULTS: These three herbs appeared to lack cytotoxicity when tested with trypan blue and MTT, but flow cytometry revealed that R. coptidis led to cell membrane damage. CONCLUSION: Lack of cytotoxicity of R. scutellariae and C. phellodendri extracts suggest that these are potentially suitable for use in ocular preparations. Only flow cytometry was able to accurately predict cytotoxic effects of extracts of TCM herbs on HCEC, demonstrating the importance of using a sensitive method of detection of cytotoxicity.

Pharmacodynamics Study of Extract from Raw Material of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae and Cortex Phellodendri for Treatment of Mice with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy / 广州中医药大学学报

Objective To explore the pharmacodynamic action of the extract from raw materials of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae and Cortex Phellode ndri, a classic herb pair in traditional Chinese medicine, on mice with diabetic peripheral neuropathy(DNP). Methods The mice were administrated with intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 30 mg/kg) and fed with high-fat diet to establish the DNP mouse model. One hundred and sixty male C57BL/6j mice were divided into normal group, model group, metfomin group(130 mg/kg), Xuezhikang group(200 mg/kg), high- and low-dose Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract group(360, 90 mg/kg) , high-and low-dose Cortex Phellodendri extract group(135, 45 mg/kg), 20 mice in each group. The medication lasted for 24 weeks. On medication week 8, 16 and 24, the plasma levels of glucose (GLU), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride(TG), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol(LDL-C) and insulin(INS) were determined respectively. On medication week 10, oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT)was carried out. On medication week 24, the plasma nuclear factor kappa B(NF-κB) activity and the plasma levels of transforming growth factor-beta 1(TGF-β1), superoxide dismutase(SOD) and reduced glutathione(GSH) were detected. Results Five weeks after injection of STZ, the body mass of the model group was firstly increased and then decreased, and FBG was increased(P<0.05 compared with the normal group). Compared with the normal group, FBG, TC, TG, LDL-C and INS levels were increased(P<0.01 or P<0.001), plasma NF-κB activity, TGF-β1 and SOD levels were enhanced, and GSH level was decreased in the model group, the difference being statistically significant (P<0.01 or P<0.001). Contrasted with the model group, FBG, TC, TG, LDL-C and INS levels in high-and low-dose Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract group and in high-and low-dose Cortex Phellodendri extract group were decreased to various degrees. After continuous medication, plasma NF-κB activity and TGF-β1 and SOD levels in high-dose Rhizoma Anemarrhenae extract group and in high-dose Cortex Phellodendri extract group were reduced(P<0.05 or P<0.001), and plasma GSH level was increased(P<0.01). Conclusion Extract from raw materials of Rhizoma Anemarrhenae and Cortex Phellodendri has obvious hypoglycemic effect and protective effect on experimental mice with DPN.

Ultrafiltration liquid chromatography combined with high-speed countercurrent chromatography for screening and isolating potential α-glucosidase and xanthine oxidase inhibitors from Cortex Phellodendri.

Cortex Phellodendri is a typical Chinese herb with a large number of alkaloids existing in all parts of it. The most common methods for screening and isolating alkaloids are mostly labor intensive and time consuming. In this study, a new assay based upon ultrafiltration liquid chromatography was developed for the rapid screening of ligands for α-glucosidase and xanthine oxidase. The C. Phellodendri extract was found to contain two alkaloids with both α-glucosidase- and xanthine oxidase binding activities and one lactone with α-glucosidase-binding activity. Subsequently, with the help of high-speed countercurrent chromatography, the specific binding ligands including palmatine, berberine, and obaculactone with purities of 97.38, 96.12, and 96.08%, respectively, were successfully separated. An optimized low-toxicity two-phase solvent system composed of ethyl acetate/n-butanol/ethanol/water (3.5:1.7:0.5:5, v/v/v/v) was used to isolate the three compounds mentioned above from C. Phellodendri. The targeted compounds were identified by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Therefore, ultrafiltration liquid chromatography combined with high-speed countercurrent chromatography is not only a powerful tool for screening and isolating α-glucosidase and xanthine oxidase inhibitors in complex samples but is also a useful platform for discovering bioactive compounds for the prevention and treatment of diabetes mellitus and gout.

Relative determination of the alkaloid metabolites of Er Miao San in rat urine by LC-MS/MS and its application to pharmacokinetics.

In the present study, five metabolites of Cortex Phellodendri Chinensis, an important herbal drug, were identified using liquid chromatography multi-stage tandem mass spectrometric techniques (LC-MS(n)). A sensitive and rapid high-performance liquid chromatographic tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method was developed for the quantitation of the five metabolites, utilizing chlorobenzylidine as the internal standard in rat urine. Urine samples were precipitated with acetonitrile. Chromatographic separation was achieved on a Waters C18 analytical column. Detection was performed by a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode via an electrospray ionization (ESI) source operating in the positive ionization mode. The method was linear over the concentration range of 0.05-1.00c for all components. The intra- and inter-day precision values were less than 14.6% and the deviations ranged from -4.4 to 13.8%. The recoveries at three levels were more than 73.7%. The fully validated method was used to determine the metabolites amount in rat urine to investigate the changes caused by coupling with Atractylodes lancea in Er Miao San preparation on metabolism.

Selective extraction of berberine from Cortex Phellodendri using polydopamine-coated magnetic nanoparticles.

A new extraction agent featuring dopamine self-polymerized on magnetic Fe3 O4 nanoparticles has been successfully synthesized and evaluated for the SPE of berberine from the extract of the traditional Chinese medicinal plant, Cortex Phellodendri. The nanoparticles prepared possessed a core-shell structure and showed super-paramagnetism. It was found that these polydopamine-coated nanoparticles exhibited strong and selective adsorption for berberine. Among the chemical components present in C. Phellodendri, only berberine was adsorbed by the nanoparticles and extracted by a following SPE procedure. Various conditions such as the amount of polydopamine-coated nanoparticles, desorption solvent, desorption time and equilibrium time were optimized for the SPE of berberine. The purity of berberine extracted from C. Phellodendri was determined to be as high as 91.3% compared with that of 9.5% in the extract. The established SPE protocol combined advantages of highly selective enrichment with easy magnetic separation, and proved to be a facile efficient procedure for the isolation of berberine. Further, the prepared polydopamine-coated magnetic nanoparticles could be reused for multiple times, reducing operational cost. The applicability and reliability of the developed SPE method were demonstrated by isolating berberine from three different C. Phellodendri extracts. Recoveries of 85.4-111.2% were obtained with relative standard deviations ranging from 0.27-2.05%.

Simultaneous determination of berberine, matrine and oxymatrine in traditional Chinese medicines by using nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis / 西安交通大学学报·英文版

A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of berberine (BBR), matrine (MT) and oxymatrine (OMT) by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) was developed. Optimum separation of the analytes was obtained on a 50 cm x 50 μm i. d. fused-silica capillary using a non-aqueous buffer system of 70 mM ammonium acetate, 7.0% acetic acid and 10% acetonitrile at 25 kV and 20°C . The relative standard deviations (R. S. D.) of the migration times and peak areas of the three active components were 0.06%-0.20% and 0.12%-3.41% for berberine, 0.11%-0.60% and 0.74%-1.63% for matrine, 0.15% and 0.45% for oxymatrine, respectively. Detection limits of berberine, matrine and oxymtrine were 0.18 μg/mL, 4.08 μg/mL and 4.16 μg/mL, respectively. In the tested concentration range, good linear relationships (0.999 2 for berberine, 0.998 8 for matrine and 0.998 8 for oxymatrine) were observed. The linear calibration ranges were 0.45-360.0 μg/mL for berberine, 8.16-408.0 μg/mL for matrine and 20.8-416.0 μg/mL for oxymatrine. This method has been successfully applied to the phytochemical analysis of alkaloids extracts from two commonly used traditional Chinese herbal drugs: Sophora flavescens Ait. (Kushen) and Cortex phellodendri chinensis (Huangbai) and their medicinal preparations.

Simultaneous determination of berberine, matrine and oxymatrine in traditional Chinese medicines by using nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis / 药物分析学报

A rapid method for the simultaneous determination of berberine (BBR), matrine (MT) and oxymatrine (OMT) by nonaqueous capillary electrophoresis (NACE) was developed. Optimum separation of the analytes was obtained on a 50cm×50μm i.d. fused-silica capillary using a non-aqueous buffer system of 70mM ammonium acetate, 7.0% acetic acid and 10% acetonitrile at 25kV and 20℃. The relative standard deviations (R.S.D.) of the migration times and peak areas of the three active components were 0.06%-0.20% and 0.12%-3.41% for berberine, 0.11%-0.60% and 0.74%-1.63% for matrine, 0.15% and 0.45% for oxymatrine, respectively. Detection limits of berberine, matrine and oxymtrine were 0.18μg/mL, 4.08μg/mL and 4.16μg/mL, respectively. In the tested concentration range, good linear relationships (0.9992 for berberine, 0.9988 for matrine and 0.9988 for oxymatrine) were observed. The linear calibration ranges were 0.45-360.0μg/mL for berberine, 8.16-408.0μg/mL for matrine and 20.8-416.0μg/mL for oxymatrine. This method has been successfully applied to the phytochemical analysis of alkaloids extracts from two commonly used traditional Chinese herbal drugs: Sophora flavescens Ait. (Kushen) and Cortex phellodendri chinensis (Huangbai) and their medicinal preparations.

Study on HPLC fingerprint determination Huanglianjiedu Decoction / 中成药

Objective:To establish a HPLC fingerprint determination which could separate the main principles of alkaloids, flavonoids and iridoids in Huanglianjiedu Decoction. Methods: The HPLC method was used and chromatography conditions were C 18V column, binary or ternary solvent-delivery gradient elution and diode-array detector. Results: A HPLC fingerprint determination method was established, which could separate main principles of the three effective groups of Huanglianjiedu Decoction. Conclusion: The ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine consist of several effective groups with different chemicals and physical properties, compared with the plant standard extracts, further studies are required for establishing HPLC fingerprint.