Abstract
The dry roots of Polygonum multiflorum (PM), involving both the raw and processed materials, are widely used as the traditional Chinese medicine for treating various diseases in China. Hepatotoxicity has been occasionally reported in patients who consume PM. Unfortunately, no definite criteria are currently available regarding the processing technology of PM for reduction the toxicity. In this work, we aimed to investigate the variations of PM metabolite profiles induced by different processing technologies by UHPLC/Q-Orbitrap-MS and multivariate statistical analysis, and to discover the potential toxic compounds by correlating the cytotoxicity of L02 cell with the contents of metabolites in raw and processed PM samples. We could identify two potential toxic compounds, emodin-8-O-glucoside and torachrysone-O-hexose, which could be selected as the toxic markers to evaluate different processing methods. The results indicated all processed PM samples could decrease the cytotoxicity on L02 cell. The best processing technology for PM process was to steam PM in black soybean decoction (BD-PM) for 24 h.
Highlights
The root of Polygonum multiflorum (PM) serves as a popular traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) frequently in medicines and prescriptions for treating many diseases
Different processing procedures could result in differentiated chemical components that are extracted from PM (Li et al, 2018)
We measured the levels of torachrysone-Ohexose (Comp. 83) and emodin-8-O-glucoside (Comp. 87) at 18 and 36 h post processing. We found that their contents were decreased significantly in all four kinds of processed PM (P-PM), compared with raw PM (R-PM) (Figure 7)
Summary
The root of Polygonum multiflorum (PM) serves as a popular traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) frequently in medicines and prescriptions for treating many diseases. Phytochemical investigations have reported various classes of active compounds like stilbenes, anthraquinones, phenolic acids, and flavonoids Different processing procedures could result in differentiated chemical components that are extracted from PM (Li et al, 2018). It affects the efficacy and/or toxicity of the processed PM (P-PM). Geographical origin and harvesting time could influence the metabolites in PM, which might result in different pharmacological effects (Li et al, 2007; Chen et al, 2008)
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
