RESUMEN
Chelidonii herba is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb with effects including antispasmodic, analgesic, antitussive, and bronchodilator properties. Alkaloids are the main bioactive ingredients in Chelidonii herba. In this study, a two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (Heteronuclear Singular Quantum Correlation, HSQC-2D-NMR) technique was employed to quantitatively analyze the total alkaloid content and three major active alkaloid monomers in Chelidonii herba from eleven different sources. The quantification results of the three monomeric alkaloids were also verified using conventional quantitative control methods such as HPLC. Experimental findings indicate that the total alkaloid content is not directly correlated with the content of the three monomeric alkaloids. Furthermore, the content of any individual monomeric alkaloid does not accurately reflect the overall quality of Chelidonii herba. It was demonstrated that the 2D-Q-NMR NMR can be applied as an alternative method. While maintaining the same levels of accuracy and precision, the 2D-Q-NMR method is simpler to operate and provides more comprehensive results with higher reproducibility in some cases.
RESUMEN
Objective::To determine the relationship between the characters and the main components of Chelidonii Herba pieces. Method::The main components of the samples were determined by HPLC, and the characters of Chelidonii Herba Pieces were evaluated by sensory evaluation. The correlation between the characters and components was calculated by correlation formula. Result::The content of 6 components, such as chelidonine, was determined by HPLC. Based on the result of sensory evaluation, there was a certain correlation between the characters and the components. Character descriptions that " some have visible white powder, some have white pubescence, and sometimes they have visible yellow florets" had a very low similarity with total alkali, indicating that these characters and total alkali content was not related. The similarity between the description of " hollow stem" had a high similarity with total alkali content, indicating that the amount of stem was related to the total alkali content. The character description of " more broken leaves" was negatively correlated with total alkaloids in the similarity, which indicated that the content of total alkaloids was less when there were more leaves(or more broken leaves), otherwise, the content of total alkaloids was relatively higher. Conclusion::The established HPLC method is simple and feasible. This study objectively quantifies the descriptions of Chelidonii Herba pieces characters, correlates them with the main components of Chelidonii Herba pieces, and then preliminarily judges the quality of Chelidonii Herba pieces according to the appearance of the characters, which provides a theoretical basis for the identification of Chelidonii Herba pieces in the market by experience, and ideas for the study of the characters of other traditional Chinese medicines.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Even though herbal medicines have played an important role in disease management and health for many centuries, their present frequent use is challenged by the necessity to determine their complex composition and their multitarget mode of action. In the present study, modern methods were investigated towards their potential in the characterization of herbal substances. As a model the herbal substance Chelidonii herba was used, for which several reports on liver toxicities exist. Extracts of Chelidonii herba with different solvents were characterized phytochemically and functionally by experiments with HepG2 liver cells. METHODS: Chelidonii herba was extracted with four solvents of different polarity (dichloromethane, water, ethanol, and ethanol 50% (V/V); four replicates each). The different extracts were characterized metabolomically by (1)H-NMR fingerprinting analysis and principal component analysis (PCA). The content of alkaloids was additionally determined by RP-HPLC. Functional characterization was achieved by the determination of cell proliferation and by transcriptomics techniques (Whole Genome Gene Expression Microarrays v2, Agilent Technologies) in HepG2 cells after exposure to the different extracts (four experimental replicates each). RESULTS: Based on data from (1)H-NMR fingerprints and RP-HPLC analyses the different extracts showed a divergent composition of constituents depending on the solvent used. HepG2 liver cells responded differentially to the four extracts. Microarray analysis revealed a significant regulation of genes and signal cascades related to biotransformation. Also liver-toxic signal cascades were activated. Neither the activated genes nor the proliferation response could be clearly related to the differing alkaloid content of the extracts. CONCLUSION: Different manufacturing processes lead to different herbal preparations. A systems biology approach combining a metabolomic plant analysis with a functional characterization by gene expression profiling in HepG2 cells is an appropriate strategy to characterize variations in plant extracts. Safety assessments of herbal substances may benefit from such complementary analyses.