Quality Of Chinese Herbal Medicines Research Articles

[Mechanism and application prospects of microbial fertilizers in regulating quality formation of medicinal plants].

With the promotion of chemical fertilizer and pesticide reduction and green production of traditional Chinese medicines, microbial fertilizers have become a hot way to achieve the zero-growth of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, improve the yield and qua-lity of medicinal plants, maintain soil health, and promote the sustainable development of the planting industry of Chinese herbal medicines. Soil conditions and microenvironments are crucial to the growth, development, and quality formation of medicinal plants. Microbial fertilizers, as environmentally friendly fertilizers acting on the soil, can improve soil quality by replenishing organic matter and promoting the metabolism of beneficial microorganisms to improve the yield and quality of medicinal plants. In this regard, understanding the mechanism of microbial fertilizer in regulating the quality formation of medicinal plants is crucial for the development of herbal eco-agriculture. This study introduces the processes of microbial fertilizers in improving soil properties, participating in soil nutrient cycling, enhancing the resistance of medicinal plants, and promoting the accumulation of medicinal components to summarize the mechanisms and roles of bacterial fertilizers in regulating the quality formation of medicinal plants. Furthermore, this paper introduces the application of bacterial fertilizers in medicinal plants and makes an outlook on their development, with a view to providing a scientific basis for using microbial fertilizers to improve the quality of Chinese herbal medicines, improve the soil environment, promote the sustainable development of eco-agriculture of traditional Chinese medicine, and popularize the application of microbial fertilizers.

Fast Inspection of Quality of Indigo Naturalis by Multiple Light Scattering.

Quality control of Chinese herbal medicine is a crucial component of Chinese herbal medicine research and development. Faced with the challenges of modernization and internationalization of Chinese herbal medicine, it is urgent to establish thorough and effective procedures for quality identification of Chinese herbal medicine, and there is an urgent need for new analytical and testing techniques that are efficient, accurate, and environmentally friendly. Multiple light scattering is a cutting-edge and analytical method that can accurately and rapidly assess the quality of Chinese herbal medicine without altering the nature or state of the sample or using organic reagents. Indigo Naturalis is considered a good remedy for pediatric hyperthermia, psoriasis, leukemia, and ulcerative colitis. In this study, the process of addition of Indigo Naturalis powder in water was recorded precisely using a multiple light scattering instrument. The qualitative and quantitative measurements of the instrument can be used to accurately capture the overall trajectory and sinking behavior of Indigo Naturalis powder into water and to establish a rapid evaluation method for the quality of Indigo Naturalis with the transmission and backscattering spectrograms of the sample as qualitative indicators and stability index as a quantitative indicator. The analytical technique based on multiple light scattering provides a fast, accurate, green, and environmentally friendly method for the quality evaluation of Indigo Naturalis and supports the development and transformation of high-quality Indigo Naturalis.

Geographic Differentiation of Essential Oil from Rhizome of Cultivated Atractylodes lancea by Using GC-MS and Chemical Pattern Recognition Analysis.

The rhizome of Atractylodes lancea (RAL) is a well-known Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) that has been applied in clinical settings for thousands of years. In the past two decades, cultivated RAL has gradually replaced wild RAL and become mainstream in clinical practice. The quality of CHM is significantly influenced by its geographical origin. To date, limited studies have compared the composition of cultivated RAL from different geographical origins. As essential oil is the primary active component of RAL, a strategy combining gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and chemical pattern recognition was first applied to compare the essential oil of RAL (RALO) from different regions in China. Total ion chromatography (TIC) revealed that RALO from different origins had a similar composition; however, the relative content of the main compounds varied significantly. In addition, 26 samples obtained from various regions were divided into three categories by hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Combined with the geographical location and chemical composition analysis, the producing regions of RAL were classified into three areas. The main compounds of RALO vary depending on the production areas. Furthermore, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that there were significant differences in six compounds, including modephene, caryophyllene, γ-elemene, atractylon, hinesol, and atractylodin, between the three areas. Hinesol, atractylon, and β-eudesmol were selected as the potential markers for distinguishing different areas by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA). In conclusion, by combining GC-MS with chemical pattern recognition analysis, this research has identified the chemical variations across various producing areas and developed an effective method for geographic origin tracking of cultivated RAL based on essential oils.

Rapid quality evaluation of Chinese herbal medicines using a miniature mass spectrometer: Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw. as an example.

The quality of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) raw materials is essential, and mass spectrometry (MS)-based technologies have been playing key roles in the quality control of CHMs. However, the use of miniature mass spectrometry (mini-MS) for quality control of CHMs has rarely been reported. In this work, we developed a rapid analytical method for the quality evaluation of CHMs based on paper spray ionization (PSI)-mini-MS/MS. The quality evaluation of Lygodium japonicum (Thunb.) Sw. was used as an example. Following a "multi-component" quality evaluation strategy, nine active constituents of L. japonicum were selected to be used as analytes for quality control. We confirmed that the precursor-product ion information in the MS/MS spectra of each analyte in the herbal extracts was consistent with the standards. Also, we developed a mini-MS-based quantitative method for each analyte using its quantification ion. The quantitative methodology was rigorously validated using quality control samples. Finally, the quality evaluation of L. japonicum was carried out using the established MS/MS method combined with statistical analysis. A wide range of common quality issues with L. japonicum can be effectively determined, including whether it is adulterated with sand and distinguishing among different parts and species. This study demonstrates that mini-MS for quality evaluation of CHMs is feasible. Mini-MS for quality evaluation of herbal medicines will potentially have a good prospect due to its many advantages such as low cost, low power consumption, and portability in the future.

Geographical traceability of germplasm resources of Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis based on multi-block information integration platform

Paris polyphylla var. yunnanensis (Franchet) Handel-Mazzetti as a perennial herb has a medicinal history of about 1800 years in China. Therein, the seeds are the core to ensuring the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. Due to the effect of environmental, climatic, and human factors, the quality of germplasm resources and medicinal materials in different geographical is mixed. Therefore, building a convenient platform for quickly detecting geographic information of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis germplasm resources is crucial. In this study, multi-block information integration technology (MIR and NIR) combined with pattern recognition methods (PLS-DA and SVM) was adopted to investigate and analyzed the 423 seed samples from six geographical locations in Yunnan Province. The results demonstrated that there were variances in spectral information among germplasm resources from diverse geographical origins; The PLS-DA model based on the LVs dimension reduction strategy and the SVM model based on the VIP dimension reduction strategy could successfully distinguish geographic information of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis germplasm resources. Among them, the best test set accuracy of PLS-DA model is 96.03%, and the F1 score reaches 96.01%. This study provides a novel and rapid method for selecting excellent germplasm resources of P. polyphylla var. yunnanensis, and ensures that the quality of medicinal materials is controlled by the source.

Antagonism of Rhizosphere Streptomyces yangpuensis CM253 against the Pathogenic Fungi Causing Corm Rot in Saffron (Crocus sativus L.).

Plant diseases lead to a significant decline in the output and quality of Chinese herbal medicines. Actinomycetes play a vital role in the rhizosphere ecosystem. This is especially true for Streptomyces, which have become a valuable biological control resource because of their advantages in producing various secondary metabolites with novel structures and remarkable biological activities. The purpose of this study was to isolate an effective antagonistic actinomycete against the pathogen of corm rot in saffron. An antagonistic actinomycete, CM253, was screened from the rhizosphere soil samples of Crocus sativus, by plate co-culture with four pathogenic fungi (Fusarium oxysporum, Fusarium solani, Penicillium citreosulfuratum, and Penicillium citrinum). CM253 inhibited the growth and development of F. oxysporum hyphae by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, by analyzing the degrading enzyme, the growth-promoting performance, and the whole genome of strain CM253, it was identified as Streptomyces yangpuensis, which produces NH3, protease, glucanase, cellulase, IAA, and ACC deaminase. In addition, 24 secondary metabolite synthesis gene clusters were predicted in antiSMASH. We identified genes encoding 2,3-butanediol; methionine; isoprene (metH, mmuM, ispEFH, gcpE, idi, and ilvABCDEH); biofilm formation; and colonization (upp, rfbBC, efp, aftA, pssA, pilD, fliA, and dhaM). Above all, S. yangpuensis CM253 showed the potential for future development as a biocontrol agent.

Combining network pharmacology with chromatographic fingerprinting and multicomponent quantitative analysis for the quality evaluation of Moutan Cortex.

In this study, we combined network pharmacology, chromatographic fingerprinting and multicomponent quantitative analysis to evaluate the quality of Moutan Cortex (MC). Specifically, through network pharmacology, we obtained a comprehensive understanding of the active components and pharmacological activities of MC. In addition, the method of establishing fingerprint and multicomponent quantification by ultra high-performance liquid chromatography is convenient and comprehensive, and can more fully reflect the overall distribution of various chemical components. Principal component analysis and discriminant least square analysis were used. The results show that MC plays a synergistic role through multiple targets and pathways. The contents of chemical components in MC from different sources were significantly different. Combining network pharmacology and multicomponent quantitative results, gallic acid, benzoyl paeonol, paeonol, methyl gallate, benzoic acid and paeonol can be used as quality markers for MC quality control. This study provides a comprehensive and reliable strategy for the quality evaluation of MC and determines its quality indicators to ensure the quality of Chinese herbal medicine.

Chinese Herbal Medicine Industry Development: A Study on the Rural Revitalization Strategies of Huaihua City in Central China

The prosperity of industries is the primary task of rural revitalization. Nowadays, the development of the Chinese herbal medicine industry has been included in the state’s rural revitalization strategy, and the authentic herbal medicine industry in Huaihua City has ushered in new development opportunities. The quality of Chinese herbal medicine in Huaihua City is high, indicating a vast potential for industrial development. However, such problems are low brand influence and a weak industrial foundation. By adopting the methods of literature review and SWOT analysis, this paper sorts out the frontier research findings of industrial prosperity and the development of the Chinese herbal medicine industry and analyzes the status of the Chinese herbal medicine industry in Huaihua City in Central China. It proposes countermeasures to enhance the brand building and promote industrial integration. The development model of Huaihua’s characteristic herbal medicine industry explores a new path for rural revitalization and provides rural revitalization solutions for Central China.

[Application and prospect of stable isotope technology in tracing geographical origin of Chinese herbal medicines].

As a unique medical resource in China, Chinese herbal medicine plays a key role in the prevention and treatment of human diseases. With the gradual expansion of applications, the quality of Chinese herbal medicine has become the focus of attention. The quality of Chinese herbal medicines depends largely on their source authenticity. Tracing the origin of Chinese herbal medicines plays an important role in ensuring their quality and efficacy and reducing the mixing and adulteration of Chinese herbal medicines from different regions. Stable isotope technology, as a key technology for origin tracing of agricultural products and food, has been used in the research of Chinese herbal medicines from multiple sources and origins in recent years. This new technological means contributes to standardizing the origin of Chinese herbal medicines and controlling their quality from the source. Apart from introducing the basic principles of stable isotope technology and the characteristics of common stable isotopes, this study reviewed the application status of light and heavy stable isotopes in the origin tracing of Chinese herbal medicines and their correlation with ecological factors, and forecasted the application prospect of this technology in the authentication of Chinese herbal medicines, aiming to provide reference for the geographical origin tracing of Chinese herbal medicines and promote the sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine.

Research on the Development of Chinese Medicine and Its Impact on the Environment

Traditional Chinese medicine has been among the two major drug systems in the world since ancient times and has played a very important role in the medical industry. With the development of traditional Chinese medicine, while the efficacy of medicine has been improved, it has gradually had a huge impact on the surrounding environment. The reduction of environmental quality not only affects the quality of traditional Chinese medicine but also causes harm to other organisms. Therefore, it is extremely important to improve the production methods of traditional Chinese medicine. Based on the different production methods of different types of traditional Chinese medicines, the improvement methods are also different. This paper mainly studies the influence of environmental factors on the quality of Chinese herbal medicine and the influence of the industrialization of modern Chinese medicine on the surrounding environment and the solutions. By referring to the relevant literature on traditional Chinese medicine, the problems existing in the whole process from raw materials to the processing of traditional Chinese medicine are analyzed to find corresponding solutions. Through the research of this paper, it is found that although traditional Chinese medicine has some influence on the surrounding environment in the process of industrialization, the improvement of the curative effect of the medicine is still obvious, and it has made a huge contribution to the improvement of the national health level.

Untargeted metabolomics approach reveals the tissue-specific markers of balloon flower root (Platycodi Radix) using UPLC-Q-TOF/MS

Platycodi Radix, the root of balloon flower, has been widely used as food and traditional oriental medicine in East Asian countries. Secondary metabolites are generally selected as quality markers to evaluate the quality of Chinese herbal medicines, and their distribution is tissue-specific. However, the similarities and differences of secondary metabolites in different tissues of Platycodi Radix have not been fully elucidated. In this study, an untargeted metabolomics approach based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was developed to dissect the differential distribution of major secondary metabolites in three different tissues of periderm, phloem and xylem and explore the tissue-specific markers of Platycodi Radix. First, an optimized UPLC-Q-TOF/MS method was applied in the global metabolite profiling of three different tissues of Platycodi Radix. The results demonstrated that different tissues from the same Platycodi Radix sample have different profiles, and the periderm, phloem and xylem of Platycodi Radix are rich in triterpenoid saponins, especially in the phloem. Notably, the periderm of Platycodi Radix also contains significant secondary metabolites with pharmacological activities, thereby suggesting that the periderm should be kept on the root for medicinal use. Next, 23 robust tissue-specific markers of Platycodi Radix were selected for the first time using the partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) loading plot and the variable importance for projection (VIP) plot. Finally, a hierarchical clustering analysis heat map was further used to visualize the relationships between three different tissues of Platycodi Radix and these tissue-specific markers. To sum up, our strategy provides systematic and comprehensive protocols for screening the tissue-specific markers of Platycodi Radix and chemical bases for the distinct usage of different tissues of Platycodi Radix, and is therefore helpful for the quality evaluation, processing method optimization and rational utilization of Platycodi Radix.

Quality assessment of Typhae Pollen Carbonisata based on chromaticity analysis combined with UPLC fingerprinting and thrombin activity.

Typhae pollen (TP) has been used as an anticoagulant in traditional Chinese medicine and throughout Asia. Typhae Pollen Carbonisata (TPC), a processed product of TP, has hemostatic properties. TPC is produced by frying TP, and the degree of processing can be judged by the colour change from yellow to brown. To establish a novel method for quality assessment of TPC and discriminate TPC from underdone products and overdone products. The Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) L* a* b* colour space values of TP and TPC were measured to establish the colour model of TPC. Ultra-performance liquid chromatography was developed for fingerprinting. Thrombin activity promoting rates, clotting time, and bleeding time illustrated the difference in the hemostatic effect of the processed products. Chemometric approaches were performed to reveal the correlation between components and colour values or thrombin activity. Reference ranges of colour values and mathematical functions of TPC were established. The developed method was found to be fast, economic, sensitive, and stable. Fingerprints and thrombin activity in conjunction with partial least squares (PLS) demonstrated that peaks 2, 4, 7, 30, and 36 (isorhamnetin) were the main contributors for colour values and hemostatic activity of TPC. TPC and its unqualified products can be effectively distinguished based on chromaticity analysis, which provides a powerful tool for the comprehensive evaluation of the quality of Chinese herbal medicines.

A novel quality evaluation method for magnolia bark using electronic nose and colorimeter data with multiple statistical algorithms

Magnolia bark ( Magnolia Officinalis REHD. & WILS. and Magnolia officinalis REHD. & WILS. VAR. biloba REHD. & WILS, Hou Po in Chinese), is widely applied in clinical prescriptions and Chinese patent medicines. Origin place is a crucial factor affecting the quality of Hou Po, and chemical composition is an important index for evaluating its quality, which is closely related to its clinical efficacy. This study aims to develop a novel method for rapidly, accurately and comprehensively identifying the origin places of Hou Po and predicting the contents of its important chemical components. High performance liquid chromatography was used to analyze the contents of magnolol and honokiol and ultra-performance liquid chromatography the contents of magnocurarine and magnoflorine. The cold soak method was used to determine the contents of water-soluble extracts. The E-nose and colorimeter were used to determine the odor and color characteristics, respectively, of the collected Hou Po samples. Using several statistical algorithms, different discriminant models based on the E-nose and colorimeter data were established to distinguish the origin place of Hou-Po and predict the chemical components of honokiol, magnolol, magnocurarine, magnoflorine and water-soluble extracts. The results showed that the Random Forest classifier combined with the ten-fold cross-validation method provided the highest classification accuracy for origin place, accounting for 99.53% among these models. The correlation coefficients between predicted and experimental values of the five chemical components were all higher than 0.96. This study has indicated that the electronic nose and colorimeter are promising methods for evaluating the quality of Chinese herbal medicines both qualitatively and quantitatively.

Quality suitability modeling of volatile oil in Chinese Materia Medica – Based on maximum entropy and independent weight coefficient method: Case studies of Atractylodes lancea, Angelica sinensis, Curcuma longa and Atractylodes macrocephala

Volatile oils are an important class of active constituents that have anti-bacterial, antipyretic and nerve-soothing effects in Chinese medicinal materials. It is often a characteristic constituent that indicates the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. How the ecological factors influence volatile oil has important theoretical and practical value for the genuine medicinal materials. This study selected Atractylodes lancea, Angelica sinensis, Curcuma longa and Atractylodes macrocephala as research objects in China, after Pearson correlative analysis between volatile oil and ecological factors, volatile oil was selected as the evaluating index and the monthly precipitation from March to June as the independent variable, maximum entropy and improved independent weight coefficient method were used to analyze the variation of volatile oil with the changes in the environment. Finally the volatile oil distribution maps were drafted. The results suggested that: (1) the precipitation in the early growth season had an important effect on the accumulation of volatile oil, but the effects were not the same. (2) The volatile oil particular prediction model was established by the factors that were most relevant to the volatile oil, and the universal prediction model was established by the precipitation from March to June. The results of the latter were highly consistent with those of the former, which showed that the universal prediction model had an effective predictive ability.

[Research in technical regulations for production of pollution-free Chinese herbal medicines].

Aimed to solve the issues of pesticide residue, heavy metal contents and harmful elements in the productive process of Chinese herbal medicines, the research team built the technical regulations for production of pollution-free Chinese herbal medicines. This regulation included the environment of production area, the process of production, quality of products etc., which were the key steps controlled the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. The environment of production area was selected according to the ecological factors which were stipulated by Ecological Suitability Regionalization of Chinese herbal medicines (second edition). The quality of air should be attain the one or two levels of GB/T3095-2012 standard values. The cultivation soils should reach to the one or two levels of GB15618 and NY/T391 standard values. The quality of irrigation water should accord with the stipulation of GB5084-2005. Aimed to the production of Chinese herbal medicines, disease-resistant and superior varieties which were suitable to the local stations should be selected, and the breeding of superior seeds and seedlings should be strengthened. Additionally, rational fertilizer application of pollution-free Chinese herbal medicines should be conformed to the principles, requirements, and the kinds of fertilizers allowed or limited for use, which were stipulated by the standard of DB13/T454. Furthermore, the plant protection policy of priority to prevention and synthetical prevention should be followed; improving ecological environment and strengthening cultivation management should be served as the basics. Agricultural measures, and biological and physical control strategies should be preferred to use; and high toxicity, residue pesticide and its mixture should be inhibited; the use of chemical pesticides should be minimized and then to decrease contamination and residue. Additionally, the quality of products should be reached to the standard of pollution-free Chinese herbal medicines; high toxicity and detection rate of pesticide residues and the contents of heavy metal and harmful elements (e.g. plumbum, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and cuprum) should accord with the common criteria of pollution-free Chinese herbal medicines. Application of technical regulations for production of pollution-free Chinese herbal medicines guarantees significantly social, economic and ecological benefits.

Establishment of a quality marker (Q-marker) system for Chinese herbal medicines using burdock as an example

BackgroundA quality marker (Q-marker) for Chinese materia medica (CMM, Zhongyao in Chinese) is a new concept proposed by the academician Changxiao Liu for the quality control of CMM. CMM refers to natural medicines used under the guidance of the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, Zhongyi in Chinese), and includes Chinese herbal medicines (Zhongyaocai in Chinese), decoction pieces of Chinese medicines (Yinpian in Chinese) and proprietary Chinese medicines (Zhongchengyao in Chinese). The quality of Chinese herbal medicines is a prerequisite for using the decoction pieces of Chinese medicines and proprietary Chinese medicines. Hypothesis/purposeWe believe that the Q-markers for Chinese herbal medicines refer to certain types of substances or characteristics that can represent the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. In a narrow sense, the Q-marker refers to the active components (marker components) or chemicals that can be transferred during the subsequent processing of the proprietary Chinese medicines. Broadly speaking, the Q-marker refers to the morphological, chemical, biological, and ecological characteristics and markers that impact the quality of Chinese herbal medicines. We study on a Q-marker system for Chinese Herbal Medicines using burdock as an example in the paper. MethodsBased on more than 20 years of research by our team, the present paper uses burdock as an example to discuss the establishment of a Q-marker system for Chinese herbal medicines. ResultsThe Q-marker system for burdock was established from the morphological, chemical and biological aspects of burdock. During cultivation, the ecological environment is an important factor that affects burdock quality and arctiin accumulation. ConclusionThe Q-markers for the quality control of Chinese herbal medicines are the basis for CMM. The concept and theory of Q-marker provide guidance and correction for colleagues involved in the healthy development of the CMM industry.

Promotion of quality standard of Chinese herbal medicine by the integrated and efficacy-oriented quality marker of Effect-constituent Index

BackgroundMultiple constituents have been applied currently as markers to control the quality of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM). However, those constituents are isolated from each other, failed to present their contribution differences to the bioeffect of CHM. Besides, a CHM for different clinic uses is often controlled by the same quality marker (Q-marker), which cannot correlate its efficacies differentially. PurposeThe study aims to promote the quality standard of CHM by the integrated and efficacy-oriented Q-marker of Effect-constituent Index (ECI). MethodsWith Coptidis Rhizoma (C. Rhizoma) as a case study, the Q-marker of ECI based on the integration of bioeffect and active constituents was developed. According to the efficacies of C. Rhizoma, we investigated its antibacterial and antineoplastic effects by microcalorimetry and MTT assay, respectively. High performance liquid chromatography was performed to determine the active constituents of C. Rhizoma extract simultaneously. ECIS of inhibition on Shigella dysenteriae (S. dysenteriae) and ECIH of inhibition on HepG2 cells were established by multi-indicator synthetic evaluation method. The organoleptic evaluation scores of C. Rhizoma samples were given by Delphi method. ResultsThe correlation analysis showed that ECIS and ECIH were significantly correlated with the inhibiting effects of C. Rhizoma extract on the growth of S. dysenteriae (P < 0.01) and proliferation of HepG2 cells (P < 0.01), respectively. Moreover, ECI showed a good ability to distinguish and predict the bioeffect-based quality grade, whereas the organoleptic evaluation and chemical analysis failed to achieve it. Plus, some samples with lower ECIS showed higher ECIH and vice versa. ConclusionsThe Q-marker of ECI is useful to associate different pharmacologic effects of C. Rhizoma containing multiple active constituents, which is beneficial for the improvement of quality standard of the CHM in an integrated, convenient, and differentiated way.

The spectrum-effect relationship—a rational approach for screening effective compounds from Chinese herbal medicine

Purpose: Introduce a rational method for reflecting the Chinese herbal medicine effective compositions and internal quality—the spectrum-effect relationship theory, so as to provide ideas and references about screening the Chinese herbal medicine effective components, distinguish different herbal species and truly reflect the inner quality of Chinese herbal medicine. Methods: We systematically review the application of the spectrum-effect relationship theory in the research of Chinese herbal medicine, including research mentality, different chromatographic analysis techniques, data processing technologies and structure determination. Results: It is proved that, with the help of the spectrumeffect relationship, the authenticationand identificationof the Chinese herbal medicine can be accurately conducted even if the concentration of effective components are not very similar in different samples. Conclusion: The spectrum-effect relationship is considered as a potential method to determine active ingredients in complex mixtures and reflect the internal quality of Chinese herbal medicine. Contact: Chunsheng ZHU, zhuchunsheng6@163.com

Identification of four Aconitum species used as "Caowu" in herbal markets by 3D reconstruction and microstructural comparison.

Authentication is the first priority when evaluating the quality of Chinese herbal medicines, particularly highly toxic medicines. The most commonly used authentication methods are morphological identification and microscopic identification. Unfortunately, these methods could not effectively evaluate some herbs with complex interior structures, such as root of Aconitum species with a circular conical shape and an interior structure with successive changes. Defining the part that should be selected as the standard plays an essential role in accurate microscopic identification. In this study, we first present a visual 3D model of Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. constructed obtained from microscopic analysis of serial sections. Based on this model, we concluded that the point of largest root diameter should be used as the standard for comparison and identification. The interior structure at this point is reproducible and its shape and appearance can easily be used to distinguish among species. We also report details of the interior structures of parts not shown in the 3D model, such as stone cells and cortical thickness. To demonstrate the usefulness of the results from the 3D model, we have distinguished the microscopic structures, at their largest segments, of the other three Aconitum species used for local habitat species of Caowu. This work provides the basis for resolution of some debate regarding the microstructural differences among these species. Thus, we conclude that the 3D model composed of serial sections has enabled the selection of a standard cross-section that will enable the accurate identification of Aconitum species in Chinese medicine.

A Novel Approach for Classification of Chinese Herbal Medicines Using Diffusion Maps

The quality of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) and the authenticity of drugs are directly related to the effect of treatment. This paper presents a method based on diffusion maps for the identification of pungent CHMs. An electronic nose (E-nose) was employed to collect the smell print of different groups of pungent CHMs with different kinds and different harvesting time. First, the collected odor data was mapped to a high-dimensional space, then using the diffusion maps algorithm, the low-dimensional manifold features were extended to the high-dimensional odor data. Finally, the linear discriminant analysis (LDA) algorithm was employed to implement a linear classifier. The results show that, the combination of Diffusion maps and LDA algorithm can well distinguish four different kinds of pungent CHMs and three different harvesting time of the same kind, provides a new way for the classification and identification of CHMs.