Phytochemical Analysis of Twelve Marker Analytes in Sogunjung-tang Using a High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method

Chang-Seob Seo,Hyeun-Kyoo Shin

doi:10.3390/app10238561

Abstract

Sogunjung-tang (SGJT) is a traditional herbal prescription that has been used in Korea for the treatment of abdominal pain since ancient times. In this study, an analytical method for the simultaneous quantification of 12 marker analytes (gallic acid (GA), albiflorin (ALB), paeoniflorin (PAE), liquiritin apioside (LIAP), liquiritin (PIQ), benzoic acid (BA), coumarin (COU), liquiritigenin (LIQG), cinnamic acid (CINA), benzoylpaeoniflorin (BPAE), cinnamaldehyde (CINAD), and glycyrrhizinic acid (GLYA)) for quality evaluation of SGJT was developed based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) combined with a photodiode array detector. A Waters SunFire reverse-phased C18 column was used for the chromatographic separation of the 12 marker analytes in SGJT using a two-mobile phases system consisting of 0.1% (v/v) aqueous formic acid and 0.1% (v/v) formic acid in acetonitrile. The developed analytical method was validated by assessment of linearity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, recovery, and precision. Using the developed and validated HPLC method, the 12 marker analytes were determined to be present in 0.10–32.83 mg/g in SGJT.

Highlights

Traditional herbal prescriptions consist of two or more medicinal herbs; they are very diverse and contain many ingredients
Standard analytes for qualitative/quantitative analysis of SGJT were purchased from commercial suppliers: Gallic acid (GA) (CAS No.: 149-91-7, 100.0%), benzoic acid (BA) (CAS No.: 65-85-0, 99.9%), and COU (CAS No.: 91-64-5, 99.0%) from Merck KGaA (Darmstadt, Germany); ALB (CAS No.: 39011-90-0, 99.8%), LIQ (CAS No.: 551-15-5, 99.6%), cinnamic acid (CINA) (CAS No.: 140-10-3, 99.5%), CINAD (CAS No.: 104-55-2, 98.0%), glycyrrhizinic acid (GLYA) (CAS No.: 1405-86-3, 99.4%), and 6-GIN (CAS No.: 23513-14-6, 98.3%) from Wako Chemicals (Osaka, Japan); PAE (CAS No.: 23180-57-6, 99.4%), liquiritin apioside (LIAP) (CAS No.: 74639-14-8, 98.0%), and BPAE
To identify the marker components of SGJT, we investigated the major components of the constituent herbal medicine

Summary

Introduction

Traditional herbal prescriptions consist of two or more medicinal herbs; they are very diverse and contain many ingredients. Sogunjung-tang (SGJT), known as Xiaojianzhong-tang in Chinese and Shokenchu-to in Japanese, is an oriental medical prescription. According to Donguibogam (the Principles and Practices of Eastern Medicine), it is recorded that SGJT has been used to treat symptoms such as abdominal pain, wet dreams, and melalgia. SGJT consists of a combination of six herbal medicines: Paeoniae Radix, Cinnamomi Ramulus, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Zingiberis Rhizoma Recens, Zizyphi Fructus, and Oryzae Gluten [1]. In studies on the biological activity of SGJT, Jung et al [2] reported its inhibitory effects on Type I hypersensitivity and inflammatory reactions, and Kim et al [3] reported its effects on cell proliferation and immune activity. Katami et al [4] reported the results of genotoxicity studies such as bacterial reverse mutation and micronucleus tests

Methods

Results

Conclusion