[Quality standard and quality value transfer of reference samples of classical prescription Huagan Decoction]

The detection method of characteristic spectrum for reference samples was established by preparing 15 batches of the reference samples of Huagan Decoction, and the peak attribution and the similarity range in the characteristic spectrum were clarified. The ranges of paste-forming rate, content, and transfer rate of the index components including geniposide, paeonol, and paeoniflorin were analyzed. The key quality attribute of the reference samples of Huagan Decoction was defined. The results showed that the 15 batches of the reference samples of Huagan Decoction had good similarities in the characteristic spectrum, which were all higher than 0.9. According to the information of characteristic peak, there were 18 characteristic peaks in the whole prescription, including seven common characteristic peaks from green tangerine peel and dried tangerine peel, four characteristic peaks from tree peony root bark(three of them were common characteristic peaks from tree peony root bark and red peony root), five characteristic peaks from cape jasmine fruit, one characteristic peak from paniculate bolbostemma, and one characteristic peak from oriental waterplantain rhizome.The paste-forming rate of the 15 batches of reference samples was 14.73%-18.83%. The content of geniposide was 1.68%-2.87%, with the average transfer rate of 70.05%±11.13%. The content of paeonol was 0.10%-0.16%, with the average transfer rate of 9.38%±1.78%. The content of paeoniflorin was 1.94%-2.74%, with the average transfer rate of 36.69%±4.63%. This study analyzed the quality value transfer of the reference samples of Huagan Decoction by the evaluation mode of combining the characteristic spectrum, the paste-forming rate, and the content of index components. The findings of this study initially established a stable and feasible standard decoction evaluation method and provided references for the quality control and the subsequent development of relevant preparations of Huagan Decoction.