Quality grade evaluation of Nvjin Pills based on traditional Chinese medicine reference drug and network pharmacology of target-focused compounds.

To improve the effectiveness of marketed drugs related to active ingredients, it is necessary to designate a more unified quality evaluation standard. Taking Nvjin Pills as an example, this study reported the development of a novel principle of analysis in traditional Chinese medicine. The core of the experiment is to prepare three batches of traditional Chinese medicine reference drugs by high-quality Chinese materia medica. The active ingredients identified in the herbal formula including glycyrrhizic acid, cinnamaldehyde, paeonol, baicalin, hesperidin, paeoniflorin, and ferulic acid were analyzed in traditional Chinese medicine reference drugs by the high-performance liquid chromatography method combined with wavelength switching. The simple prediction results of network pharmacological analysis verified the feasibility and reliability of the established quantitative analysis method for seven target-focused compounds in Nvjin Pills, which were recommended as candidate indicators for quality evaluation ultimately. Using the seven target-focused compounds as the scientific ruler, quality grade specifications of Nvjin Pills were proposed by comprehensive analysis. Accordingly, 16, 47, and 13 batches of samples were primarily graded as first grade, second grade, and unqualified grade, respectively. This study will provide a chemical basis for quality control of Nvjin Pills, which is necessary for the production process of pharmaceutical development.

Quality Evaluation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Prescription in Naolingsu Capsule Based on Combinative Method of Fingerprint, Quantitative Determination, and Chemometrics.

Background: Naolingsu capsule (NLSC) is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription in China. It is widely used to treat neurasthenia, insomnia, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease, and other diseases. However, its inalienable chemical groups have not been carried out. Methods: We first established the nontargeted investigation based on fingerprinting coupled with UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS/MS. Second, the quantitative methods based on HPLC-DAD and LC-MS/MS were connected to the synchronous quantitative assurance of eleven and fourteen marker compounds. Finally, the quantitative information was processed with SIMCA-P for differentiating the distinctive bunches of samples to screen the foremost appropriate chemical markers. Results: The similarity of HPLC fingerprints of 24 batches of NLSC samples was 0.645-0.992. In total, 37 flavonoids, 21 organic acids, 22 lignans, 13 saponins, and 20 other compounds were recognized in NLSC by the UHPLC-Q/TOF-MS/MS method. The quantitative determination was approved for linearity, discovery limits, accuracy, repeatability, soundness, and precision. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models accomplished the great classification of the samples from the five enterprises, respectively. Rehmannioside D (RD), methylophiopogonanone A (MPA), 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose (DS), schisandrin B (SSB), epimedin C (EC), icariin (ICA), and jujuboside B (JB) were considered as the potential chemical markers for NLSC quality control. Conclusion: The experimental results illustrated that the combinative strategy was valuable for quick pharmaceutical quality assessment, which can potentially differentiate the origin, decide the realness, and assess the overall quality of the formulation.

Molecularly imprinted hollow spheres for the solid phase extraction of estrogens.

Solid phase extraction (SPE) is widely used in many different areas, such as environmental, biological, and food analysis, where cleaning and pre-concentration of samples are key steps in the analytical protocol. New materials have significant impact on the development of solid phase extraction. In this paper, mono-dispersed molecularly imprinted hollow spheres (MIHSs) of ß-estradiol (E2) were synthesized using silica nanospheres particles as the sacrificial matrix. Compared to the corresponding non-imprinted hollow spheres (NIHSs), the MIHSs with uniform size of 290 nm have outstanding affinity in aqueous solution. Static saturation adsorption required only 15min to achieve equilibrium, with a binding capacity (Qmax) of 44.5 µmol g(-1). The extraction of E2, ethinyl estradiol (EE), diethylstilbestrol (DES), ethisterone (ES) and estrone (E1) from water samples by MIHSs was also investigated. In the spiked samples of tap water, Qinghe river water and Zhanjiang river water, more than 90.42% of E2, but less than 79% of EE, DES, ES and E1 were recovered. The limits of detection (LOD) ranged from 0.1 to 0.26 µmol L(-1) after solid phase extraction by MIHSs and HPLC-UV analysis. The adsorption capacity of the MIHSs showed no significant deterioration after six rounds of regeneration.

[Study on the chemical constituents of Lonicera similes].

OBJECTIVE: To study the chemical constituents of flower buds of Lonicera similes. METHODS: The chemical constituents were isolated and purified with macroporous resin, silica gel column chromatography, gel chromatography, ect. The structures were elucidated according to the references combined with the application of spectrum techniques such as 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR ect. RESULTS: Nine compounds were isolated and their structures were identified as 5-hydroxyl-7,4'-dimethoxyflavone (I), rutin (II), quercetin (III), amentoflavone (IV), aesculetin (V), beta-sitosterol (VI), 5-hydroxyl-7,3', 4'-trimethoxyflavone (VIII), oleanolic acid (VIII), beta-daucosterin (IX). CONCLUSION: Among the nine isolated compounds, compounds I, II, III, IV, V, are flavonoids. Compounds I , IV, V, VII, VIII, IX are isolated from this plant for the first time.