Chemical Characterization of Herbal Formula Yupingfeng Powder and Its Single Herbs (I) Volatile Components

Abstract

In this study, in order to determine chemical constituents of a traditional Chinese medicinal formula (TCMF) and identify their changes during the production process, both volatile and water-soluble components were detected for Yupingfeng (YPF) powder and its composed herbs of Radix Astragali (RA), Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae (RAM), and Radix Saposhnikoviae (RS). In the first part of the research, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was employed to analyze volatile components. Some chemometric resolution techniques were then investigated to treat the two-dimensional data produced. The results showed that 116, 12, 80, and 68 constituents were separated; 61, 11, 32, and 44 of them tentatively identified, which accounted for about 77.31%, 97.71%, 79.28%, and 86.01% of the total relative contents of essential oils from YPF, RA, RAM, and RS, respectively. In comparison with volatile components determined, except six ones with low contents from RS, almost all from RA, RAM, and RS could be found in YPF. Most of volatile constituents with high concentrations in YPF were from RAM. Gamma-Eudesmol not found in any single herbs was identified in YPF. However, its relative content was 0.19% only. Chemometric resolution techniques upon two-dimensional data produced by hyphenated instruments could chemically characterize complex systems like TCMF clearly.