[Quality control of xiaoqinglong mixture]

Area of Science:

• Pharmacognosy
• Analytical Chemistry
• Traditional Chinese Medicine

Background:

• Xiaoqinglong mixture is a widely used traditional Chinese herbal formula.
• Ensuring the quality and consistency of herbal medicines is crucial for patient safety and therapeutic efficacy.
• Accurate quantification of active compounds is essential for standardization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate analytical methods for detecting and quantifying key active components in Xiaoqinglong mixture.
• To establish quality control parameters for the Xiaoqinglong mixture.
• To ensure the consistent presence and concentration of marker compounds.

Main Methods:

• Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) was employed for the qualitative detection of ephedrine, paeoniflorin, glycyrrhizic acid, cinnamic aldehyde, and xixin volatile oils.
• High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was utilized for the quantitative determination of paeoniflorin.
• Method validation included recovery and Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) assessments.

Main Results:

• TLC successfully identified the presence of ephedrine, paeoniflorin, glycyrrhizic acid, cinnamic aldehyde, and xixin volatile oils.
• HPLC analysis demonstrated a high average recovery rate of 99.42% for paeoniflorin.
• The method exhibited excellent precision, with a Relative Standard Deviation (RSD) of 0.23% for paeoniflorin determination.

Conclusions:

• The developed TLC and HPLC methods are reliable and accurate for the quality control of Xiaoqinglong mixture.
• The high recovery and low RSD confirm the suitability of HPLC for precise paeoniflorin quantification.
• These validated methods contribute to the standardization and quality assurance of this traditional herbal preparation.