| Abstract: | Background: According to the traditional Chinese medicine theory, the common processing methods for Ruxiang (frankincense) include stir-frying processing and vinegar processing. Methods: With network pharmacology and thermal analysis methods, we selected and identified the main and irritating ingredients, established the pyrolysis characteristic parameters for identifying frankincense quality, quantified the starting and optimum temperature limits for processing frankincense, and analyzed the influences of processing adjuvants (vinegar) on combustion pyrolysis characteristics of frankincense. By applying Fourier transformation infrared spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and UV-visible spectrometry, we evaluated the processing technology developed in our study of frankincense and its processed products. Results: Based on network pharmacology, we can find that the classical compounds of essential oil are the main pharmacodynamics components of frankincense possessing the anti-inflammatory, analgesia, anti-tumor, anti-ulcer and ant-inflammatory bowel disease effects. The pyrolysis combustion rate peaks of frankincense at 285.27 ± 7.05 ℃and 476.99 ± 13.46 ℃were the characteristic peaks used to identify frankincense quality. The specific temperature of slow-fire processing, including the vinegar processing and stir-frying processing, was 148.72 ± 5.09 °C. Heating for 5.67 ± 0.98 min after reaching processing temperature was needed for processing frankincense with vinegar. The kinetics analysis showed that both frankincense and its vinegar mixture exhibited good linear relationships. The feasibility and practicability for our processing technology were verified through the determination of medicinal compounds by Fourier transformation infrared spectrometry, high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and UV. Conclusion: Frankincense essential oils were the main active components of frankincense, which also can be taken as the internal chemical control indexes to judge the quality control and to optimize the processing technology of frankincense. The pyrolysis combustion rate peaks of frankincense at 285.27 ± 7.05 ℃and 476.99 ± 13.46 ℃were the characteristic peaks that can be used to identify frankincense quality. The optimum processing conditions of vinegar-processed frankincense with were as follows: with vinegar, 20％; heating temperature, 148.72 ± 5.09 °C; and heating time, 5.67 ± 0.98 min. Under these conditions, frankincense essential oil could cause a moderate effect on combustion pyrolysis characteristics to exert its corresponding pharmacological effects. |
