[Nucleosides-based identification model for Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus]

Area of Science:

• Pharmacognosy and Analytical Chemistry
• Traditional Chinese Medicine Quality Control
• Chemometrics

Background:

• Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus is a valuable traditional Chinese medicine.
• Ensuring the authenticity and quality of Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus is crucial due to the prevalence of counterfeits.
• Existing identification methods may lack efficiency or accuracy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a rapid and precise analytical method for identifying Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus and its counterfeits.
• To establish a multivariate statistical model for integrated analysis and discrimination.
• To propose a simple, accurate, and reliable identification method for quality control.

Main Methods:

• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was employed for the determination of ten nucleosides.
• Multivariate statistical analyses, including clustering analysis, principal component analysis (PCA), and Fisher's linear discriminant analysis (LDA), were conducted.
• A discriminant function model was established using screened characteristic indicators.

Main Results:

• The HPLC method achieved fast determination with a single sample analysis time of under 16 minutes.
• Excellent linearity (R2 > 0.999), good spiked recoveries (93.83%-108.9%), and low RSDs (0.12%-1.3%) were observed.
• Clustering analysis successfully discriminated Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus from counterfeits; Fisher's LDA achieved 97.5% accuracy in the discriminant model, while PCA failed.

Conclusions:

• The developed HPLC method combined with Fisher's LDA provides a simple, accurate, and reliable approach for identifying Fritillariae Cirrhosae Bulbus.
• This method offers a scientific basis for optimizing identification techniques and developing quality control strategies for Chinese medicinal materials.
• The study highlights the effectiveness of chemometric approaches in distinguishing herbal medicines.