[Comparative analysis of quality differences between post-cocoon and normally harvested Whitmania pigra materials...

This study focused on Whitmania pigra to establish a multi-dimensional "activity-component" evaluation system. The quality differences between medicinal materials harvested after cocoon production and those harvested under normal conditions were systematically compared in terms of in vitro/in vivo pharmacodynamic effects and chemical compositions. The results showed that although W. pigra harvested after cocoon production complied with the standards specified in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia(2025 edition), its antithrombin activity(P<0.05) and soluble protein content(P<0.001) were significantly lower than those of normally harvested W. pigra. In vivo pharmacodynamic experiments demonstrated that the group treated with post-cocoon harvested W. pigra exhibited significantly inferior effects in inhibiting the black tail length and black tail rate of rats, as well as in improving plasma antithrombotic indices including prothrombin time(PT, P<0.05), activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT, P<0.05), D-dimer(P<0.05), and P-selectin(P<0.01), compared with the normal harvest group. Furthermore, HPLC fingerprinting combined with principal component analysis(PCA), cluster analysis(CA), and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis(OPLS-DA) confirmed the differences between normally harvested and post-cocoon harvested W. pigra, and seven key differential characteristic components such as uracil and hypoxanthine were identified. In conclusion, the in vitro/in vivo pharmacological activities and content of bioactive components in W. pigra harvested after cocoon production are reduced, resulting in a significant decline in medicinal quality. Accordingly, such medicinal materials are not recommended to be used as decoction pieces in clinical practice.