Abstract
Gancao-Ganjiang-Tang (GGT) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription and is a representative prescription for recuperating depleted Yang in Treatise on Febrile Diseases. The TCM theory believes that the efficacy of medicinal herbs is decided by the multicompounds which consist of different kinds of chemical constituents with bioactivities, but not by a monomeric constituent. From ancient times until today, GGT have 5 different kinds of compatibilities that can be verified. In this study, a HPLC-DAD method was established for the simultaneous determination of 8 compounds including 6-gingerol, 8-gingerol, 6-shogaol, liquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritin, isoliquiritigenin, and glycyrrhizic acid in the five GGT. The total contents of the 8 compounds in GGT varied from 555.56 to 956.33 μg/mL. The effects showed that the dosage and compatibility of medicinal herbs have influenced the content of chemical compounds of TCM prescription while the content of chemical compounds has acted on clinical efficacy. Quality evaluation and active essence screening of TCM (including single herb and prescription) should be based on the TCM theory and clinical effectiveness. The method was proven to be suitable for quality control of GGT.
Highlights
Gancao-Ganjiang-Tang (GGT), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription from the Treatise on Febrile Diseases, was a combination of the crude extracts from Glycyrrhizae Radix and Rhizoma Zingiberis and was used as a “warming” preparation for patients with chills, fatigue, dysphoric, and so forth caused by Yang deficiency [1]
Liquiritigenin has the effects in reducing the expression of promatrix metalloproteinase2 [8] and inhibiting hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression [9]
TCM is the important part of Chinese culture, through thousands of years’ development, having formed a selfcontained system and becoming the typical representative of eastern medicine
Summary
Gancao-Ganjiang-Tang (GGT), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) prescription from the Treatise on Febrile Diseases, was a combination of the crude extracts from Glycyrrhizae Radix and Rhizoma Zingiberis and was used as a “warming” preparation for patients with chills, fatigue, dysphoric, and so forth caused by Yang deficiency [1]. 6-Gingerol, 8-gingerol, 6-shogaol, liquiritin, liquiritigenin, isoliquiritin, isoliquiritigenin, and glycyrrhizic acid are the most important bioactive constituents reported at present. Glycyrrhizic acid can exert antiinflammation effect by suppressing cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression [2]; it has other effects including immunomodulatory [3], antidiabetic effect [4], liver protection [5], inhibits cholestasis [6], and neuroprotection [7]. Liquiritigenin has the effects in reducing the expression of promatrix metalloproteinase2 [8] and inhibiting hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression [9]. Liquiritin and isoliquiritin have the pharmacological properties of antimicrobial [10], antioxidative [11], antitumor [12], and antiulcer activities [13] and others. Gingerols can enhance power of cardiac muscle systole and have a protective effect on lipid peroxidation damage of nervous cell
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