Abstract
This study was to evaluate the quality consistency of glycyrrhiza extract and to explore the possible anti-oxidant components in combination with chromatographic fingerprint and bioactivity evaluation. Characteristic fingerprints of glycyrrhiza extract samples from different sources were generated by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) and evaluated using hierarchical clustering and similarity analysis. Compared with the conventional qualitative similarity evaluation method, the averagely linear quantified fingerprint method had an important quantitative similarity parameter supported by quantitative analysis, which was recommended in the fingerprint evaluation. Antioxidant activities of the glycyrrhiza extract samples were determined by DPPH (2, 2-diphenyl-1-picryldrazyl) radical scavenging assays. In addition, the fingerprint-efficacy relationship was investigated by the chemical fingerprints and the anti-oxidant activities utilizing partial least squares model, which was capable of exploring and discovering the bioactive components of glycyrrhiza extracts. Therefore, the present study provided a powerful strategy to evaluate the holistic quality consistency of medicinal plant.
Highlights
Licorice, called “Gan-Cao” in Chinese, is the dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza species (Leguminosae family)[1]
The accuracy of the HPLC method was evaluated by using the standard addition method and the average percent recoveries for six investigated compounds ranged from 97.65% to 100.71%, with relative standard deviation (RSD) value less than 1.92%
All the GE samples showed similar SL and α; PL were able to identify the differences among the different samples due to the variations in the chemical contents
Summary
Licorice, called “Gan-Cao” in Chinese, is the dried roots and rhizomes of Glycyrrhiza species (Leguminosae family)[1]. Several chromatographic techniques including thin-layer chromatography (TLC)[19], fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR)[20], capillary electrophoresis (CE)[21], gas chromatography (GC)[22], liquid chromatography (LC)[2] and high-speed countercurrent chromatography (HSCCC)[23], have been applied to establish fingerprints of HM Among these detection methods, HPLC is preferred due to its high reproducibility, sensitivity, adaptability for a wide range of samples. The capability of fingerprinting in quality control of HM has been verified[26,27], multi-component quantification is not credible in situations where certain medicinal ingredients are ignored There has been no reports on the relationship between the chemical fingerprints of GE samples and their antioxidant activities, from any localities This could be a valuable study that contributes to the use in human nutrition and helps prevent and treat diseases. The approach offered an effective and powerful way to evaluate the quality of GE samples
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
