Comprehensive quantitative analysis of Shuang-Huang-Lian oral liquid using UHPLC–Q-TOF-MS and HPLC-ELSD

Abstract

Shuang-Huang-Lian oral liquid (SHL) is a well-known Chinese patent drug containing three herbal medicines: Radix Scutellariae, Flos Lonicerae Japonicae and Fructus Forsythiae. It is usually used to treat acute upper respiratory tract infection caused by virus or bacteria. Although the licensing of botanical drug Veregen approved by FDA has indicated the importance of quantitative analysis in quality control of herbal medicines, quantitative evaluation of a Chinese patent drug like SHL remains a challenge due to the complex chemical profile. In this study, 15 small molecular components of SHL (four flavonoids, six quinic acid derivatives, three saponins and two phenylethanoid glycosides) were simultaneously determined using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS). The contents of the three major saccharides, namely fructose, glucose and sucrose were quantified using high performance liquid chromatography-evaporative light scattering detector on an amino column (HPLC-ELSD). The macromolecules were quantified by precipitating in 80% ethanol, drying the precipitate, and then weighing. The established methods were validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, precision, accuracy and stability and then successfully applied to analyze 12 batches of commercial products of SHL produced by four different manufacturers. The results indicated that 57.52-78.11% (w/w) of SHL could be quantitatively determined (non-saccharide small molecules: 1.77-3.75%, monosaccharides: 0.93-20.93%, macromolecules: 2.63-5.76% and sucrose: 49.20-65.94%). This study may provide a useful way to comprehensively evaluate the quality of SHL.

Differences in Chemical Component and Anticancer Activity of Green and Ripe Forsythiae Fructus

“…FF has been traditionally used as a main herb in TCM formulas to treat multiple cancers in clinical cases, including esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer and other cancers (Ma, 2003;Zhang, 2006;He, 2007;Men et al, 2010;Li, 2011;Zhu, 2011). In recent years, several studies also proved that FF exhibited good in vitro anticancer activity on various cancer cell lines through inducing apoptosis and other mechanisms, as well as enhanced the sensitivity of cancer cells to chemotherapy (Hu et al, 2007;Liu et al, 2009;Zhong et al, 2009;Sun et al, 2010;Yan et al, 2012;Cai et al, 2013).…”

“…(Kang et al, 2008;Cheng et al, 2015;Sung et al, 2016). FF is also the main ingredient of many Chinese brand-name OTC drugs (Fang et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2015;He et al, 2016), such as the fructus forsythiae tablet for detoxification (Yin-Qiao-Jie-Du tablet), heat-clearing and detoxificating oral liquid (Qing-Re-Jie-Du oral liquid), Shuang-Huang-Lian oral liquid. Among all these applications, the anticancer property of FF makes it one of the most popularly applied and studied herbs due to its heat-clearing and detoxifying effects.…”

Full component analysis of Tianma-Gouteng-Yin

“…Samples of these stock solutions were then mixed together to prepare a mixed standard solution. The standard saccharide solutions were prepared according to the methods described in our previous publication [ 18 ]. Reference markers of fructose, glucose and sucrose were accurately weighed and dissolved in a 1:1 (v/v) mixture of ACN and water.…”

A target and nontarget strategy for identification or characterization of the chemical ingredients in Chinese herb preparation Shuang‐Huang‐Lian oral liquid by ultra‐performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry

“…Thirty‐five components were characterized and 10 of them were determined in SHL powder injection (Wang et al, ). Zhou, Chen, Li, Jin, and Shi () determined seven components in SHL and Zhang et al () simultaneously determined 15 small molecular components in SHL (four flavonoids, six quinic acid derivatives, three saponins and two phenylethanoid glycosides) using UHPLC‐Q‐TOF‐MS and HPLC‐ELSD. Liu et al () quantified 17 major compounds in SHL by UPLC–MS/MS, including eight flavonoids, six organic acids, two phenylethanoid glycosides and one lignan.…”