coniferyl-ferulate and ferulic-acid

The genus Angelica encompasses 80 species worldwide. Among them, only Angelica sinensis is widely used in China and Japan. To explore the quality and geographical distribution of A. sinensis, we collected 1,530 plants from Gansu Province and analyzed them for their contents of chlorogenic acid (CA), ferulic acid (FA), senkyunolide I(SI), senkyunolide A(SA), senkyunolide H (SH), coniferyl ferulate (CF), ligustilide (LI), and butenyl phthalide (BP) using UPLC. We also assessed the relationship between the ecological environment and quality of A. sinensis through maximum entropy modeling and a geographical information system. The habitat suitability distribution demonstrated that the most influential ecological factors for the growth of A. sinensis were altitude, precipitation during March, May, and December, precipitation during the wettest month, and the soil pH. The most suitable areas for cultivation are concentrated to the south of Gansu Province, including Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Dingxi City, Tianshui City, south of Wuwei City, east of Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, north of Longnan City, and northwest of Pingliang City. The quality suitability regionalization analysis divulged that the most influential ecological factors for the index components of A. sinensis were the altitude, sunshine, rainfall, temperature, and soil pH. The highest quality A. sinensis grow in Dingxi City, Tangchang, Lixian, and Wen counties in Longnan City, Wushan County in Tianshui City, Lintan, Zhouqu, and Zhuoni counties in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Kangle and Linxia counties in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture. The experiment yielded highly accurate results (accuracy of 0.955), suggesting that the results were consistent with the actual distribution of A. sinensis in Gansu. The inferences of this research will naturally draw the attention of the authorities in the fields of natural resources and agriculture departments and provide a scientific basis for the rational selection of A. sinensis cultivation areas.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Angelica sinensis; Benzofurans; China; Chlorogenic Acid; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Coumaric Acids; Plant Extracts

A quantitative analysis method of multi-components with a single marker (QAMS) for simultaneous determination of six marker compounds (one from phenolic acids and five from phthalides) in Chuanxiong Rhizoma was established by applying HPLC and using butylidenephthalide as the internal reference substance. And also the feasibility and accuracy of the established method for quality evaluation and application of Chuanxiong Rhizoma were investigated and validated. The analysis was performed with the mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile - 0.2% aqueous formic acid. The flow rate was 1.0 mL . min-1 and the column temperature was maintained at 30 °C. The detection wavelengths were set at 252 nm (for ferulic acid, Z-ligustilide, and butylidenephthalide) and 266 nm (for senkyunolide I, senkyunolide A, and coniferyl ferulate), separately, and 20 µL was injected for analysis with gradient elution. The results showed that there were no significant differences observed between the HPLC-QAMS method and the external standard method (RSD <5%). The relative correction factors were credible (RSD < 5%) in changed chromatographic conditions. The established HPLC-QAMS method can be accurately used for simultaneously evaluating and controlling the quality of Chuanxiong Rhizoma with multi-components.

Topics: 4-Butyrolactone; Acetonitriles; Benzofurans; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Coumaric Acids; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Hydroxybenzoates; Quality Control; Rhizome

To evaluate the chemical changes in Chuanxiong raw material (CX), the rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort., during CX storage and further assess its quality variety.. Four CX samples were sealed and stored at ambient temperature in room for two years. These samples were quantified on the amounts of characteristic chemical compounds by HPLC-DAD-(APCI) MS techniques.. Eight characteristic peaks in HPLC fingerprint were found to be good separation and assigned as vanillin (1), ferulic acid (2), senkyunolide I (3), senkyunolide H (4), coniferyl ferulate (5), senkyunolide A (6), Z-ligustilide (7) and levistolide A(8), respectively based on their on-line APCI-MS data and UV spectra. After CX being stored, compounds 1 - 4, and 8 were decreased by 44.4%, 52.1%, 37.6%, 52.8% and 47.5% (n = 4), respectively, whilst compounds 5 - 7 were increased by 59.1%, 40.1% and 47.5% (n = 4), respectively.. Multiple chemical compounds are found to be changed during CX storage, which results in the variety of quality and therapeutic effect because most of the tested compounds have been demonstrated to be bioactive by pharmacological study and clinical trials. It is suggested that CX should be stored under dark, cool and dry condition.

Topics: Benzaldehydes; Benzofurans; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Coumaric Acids; Drug Storage; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Ligusticum; Quality Control; Rhizome

Activity of Chinese Danggui (DG), the processed root of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, is linked to the ferulic acid content but the stability of ferulic acid during extraction for medicinal use is not known. The stabilities of ferulic acid and coniferyl ferulate were evaluated in the extracts of DG using a variety of extraction solvents. These included various combinations and proportions of methanol, water, formic acid, 1 M aqueous hydrochloric acid and 2% sodium hydrogen carbonate (NaHCO3) in water. Coniferyl ferulate was found liable to hydrolyze into ferulic acid in neutral, strongly acidic and basic solvents, where heat and water could facilitate this hydrolysis. However, the hydrolysis was relatively resisted in weakly organic acid. Based on the stability evaluation, two new terms, namely: free ferulic acid and total ferulic acid, were suggested and defined. Free ferulic acid refers to the natural content of ferulic acid in herbs. Total ferulic acid means the sum of free ferulic acid plus the amount of related hydrolyzed components. Meanwhile, the high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method was developed to assay free ferulic acid and total ferulic acid in DG using methanol-formic acid (95:5) and methanol-2% NaHCO3 in water (95:5) as extraction solvents, respectively. Ten DG samples were investigated on their contents of free and total ferulic acid. The results indicated that the amount variety of free ferulic acid was larger than that of their counterparts, and the ratio of total ferulic acid to free ferulic acid was 4.07 +/- 2.73 (mean +/- SD, n = 10). The chemical assay of DG using total ferulic acid content would be a better choice to assess the herbal quality and was recommended.

Topics: Angelica sinensis; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Coumaric Acids; Drug Stability; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Plant Roots; Quality Control; Reproducibility of Results