Multiple Chromatographic and Chemometric Methods for Quality Standardisation of Chinese Herbal Medicines

Quality standardization of complementary medicine is fundamental for industry and practice as it underpins the quality,safety and efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines.Current herbal standardizations are often based on the quantitative analysis of a single compound,which may not reflect the total characteristic,bioactive and toxic nature of the herbs or products.Therefore,there is a need to establish an internationally recognized methodology for quality standardization of Chinese herbal medicines.The analytical methods reviewed in this article are pharmacognosy,TLC,HPLC,LCMS,CE and chemo-metrics.This article also covers the developments and applications of these methods in quality standardization.Recent advances show that a combination of these methods creates an overall chemical profile of each herb.This iS supported by results reviewed in this article and obtained in our laboratory tests on medicinal herbs including Hypericum perforatum,Morinda officinalis and Centella asiatica.Significant variations in active components have been observed between herbal samples and products.It is proposed that the identification of active components,pharmacological activities and eventual clinical applications are required for a comprehensive quality standardization system.Our findings indicate that the combination of various chromatographic and chemometric methods will advance the methodology of quality standardization and enhance the overall confidence in herbal medicine for the health practitioner and the public.     

Multiple Chromatographic and Chemometric Methods for Quality Standardisation of Chinese Herbal Medicines

目的：观察伤益气雾剂中栀子苷透皮吸收的特点，探讨伤益气雾剂外用时栀子苷的透皮吸收的动力学。方法：利用体内外实验对栀子苷透皮量及其血药浓度进行测试观察。结果：无论体内体外试验均表明，给药后半小时栀子苷即可透过皮肤，在皮下组织中分布，同时血中也能明显测到栀子苷。其透出量具有累积增多的线性关系。结论：伤益气雾剂中栀子苷可明显透过皮肤，并在皮下组织及血液中分布。本实验为该药外用治疗相关病症的应用提供了实验依据。