Abstract
Phthalides are important bio-active constituents in Si-Wu-Tang and Fo-Shou-San, two commonly used Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) combined prescriptions mainly derived from Radix Angelica and Rhizoma Chuanxiong. In this paper, the contents of eight phthalides, including Z-ligustilide, E-ligustilide, Z-butylenephthalide, E-butylene-phthalide, 3-butylphthalide, neocnidilide and senkyunolide A were determined or estimated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed GC-MS was a simple, rapid, and high sensitive method for analyzing phthalides in Si-Wu-Tang, Fo-Shou-San, Radix Angelica and Rhizoma Chuanxiong, and the extractable contents of each phthalides including Z-ligustilide, E-ligustilide, Z-butylenephthalide, etc. varied after Radix Angelica, Rhizoma Chuanxiong were combined into a formulation, such as Si-Wu-Tang and Fo-Shou-San. Furthermore, inhibition activity of essential oils from Si-Wu-Tang, Fo-Shou-San, Radix Angelica and Rhizoma Chuanxiong on uterine contraction was tested in an in vitro assay, and the results showed that the activity of the essential oil is higher as the content of the phthalides increase, which demonstrated that phthalides are possibly main active components inhibiting mice uterine contraction in vitro. All of the results suggested that comparative analysis of chemical components and pharmacological activities of each herb and formula is possibly helpful to elucidate the active components in traditional Chinese medicine, and to reveal the compatibility mechanism of TCM formulae.
Highlights
In clinical application, most Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) are prescribed in combination to obtain the synergistic effects or to diminish the possible adverse reactions [1,2]
The present study mainly focuses on identification and comparative quantification of bio-active phthalides in essential oils obtained from SWT, FSS, Radix Angelica (RA) and RL by hydrodistillation, followed by gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis to investigate the variation in the extractable contents of the main phthalides, including Z-ligustilide, E-ligustilide, Z-butylenephthalide, E-butylenephthalide, 3-butyl-phthalide, compound 6, neocnidilide and senkyunolide A after RA, RL were combined into a formulation
Ligustilide, butylenephthalide, and senkyunolide A have been widely investigated for their biological activities
Summary
Most Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs) are prescribed in combination to obtain the synergistic effects or to diminish the possible adverse reactions [1,2]. This medical approach has played an important role in the prevention and treatment of diseases. The present study mainly focuses on identification and comparative quantification of bio-active phthalides in essential oils obtained from SWT, FSS, RA and RL by hydrodistillation, followed by gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis to investigate the variation in the extractable contents of the main phthalides, including Z-ligustilide, E-ligustilide, Z-butylenephthalide, E-butylenephthalide, 3-butyl-phthalide, compound 6, neocnidilide and senkyunolide A after RA, RL were combined into a formulation. The inhibitory activity of the essential oils from SWT, FSS, RA and RL on uterine contraction in vitro was compared, and its correlation with phthalide content in different essential oils was analyzed
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