Selection of chemical markers is crucial for the quality control of herbal medicines, including authentication of genuine species, harvesting the best quality raw materials, evaluation of post-harvesting handling, assessment of intermediates and finished products, and detection of harmful or toxic ingredients. Ideal chemical markers should be the therapeutic components of herbal medicines. However, for most herbal medicines, the therapeutic components have not been fully elucidated or easily monitored. Bioactive, characteristic, main, synergistic, correlative, toxic and general components may be selected. This article reviews the effective use of chemical markers in the quality control of herbal medicines including the selection criteria considering the roles and physicochemical factors which may affect the effective use of chemical markers.

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Cassia bark or cortex cinnamomi, the dried stem bark of Cinnamomum cassia Presl. (Lauraceae), is a popular natural spice and a commonly used herb in traditional Chinese medicine. However, adulterants are frequently found in the market. In this study, 44 samples of Cassia bark including bark from seven related Cinnamomum species were collected from fields and market. Four characteristic components, cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid, cinnamyl alcohol, and coumarin were determined by RP-HPLC, and a fingerprint comprised of five markers was established. These results showed that cassia barks contained high contents of cinnamaldehyde (13.01-56.93 mg/g). The highest content of cinnamaldehyde (up to 93.83 mg/g) was found in debarked cortex, which is traditionally regarded as having the best quality in local herb shops. In contrast, the adulterants from the other Cinnamomum species, C. wilsonii Camble, C. japonicum Sieb., C. mairei Levl. and C. burmanii (Nees) Blume, contained low contents of cinnamaldehyde (<2.00 mg/g). The content of cinnamaldehyde in C. loureirii Nees was comparable to that in C. cassia. It is suggested that five characteristic peaks by HPLC are suitable for distinguishing genuine cassia bark from the adulterants and could be applied in the quality control of this commodity.

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An unusual polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol derivative unsubstituted at C-2 and C-6, garcicowin A (1), together with three other new (garcicowins B-D, 2-4) and nine known analogues, was isolated and characterized from the twigs of Garcinia cowa. The structures of 1-4 were elucidated by interpretation of their spectroscopic data. The compounds isolated were evaluated for their cytotoxicity against two cancer cell lines (HT-29 and HCT116) and against normal colon cells (CCD-18Co), and the results demonstrated their selective toxicity toward the cancer cells.

Oroxylin A is a major active component of the Chinese traditional medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, which has been reported as a potential anticancer drug. We demonstrated that, Oroxylin A inhibited the glycolysis and the binding of hexokinase II (HK II) with mitochondria in human breast carcinoma cell lines, which was dependent on sirtuin-3 (SIRT3). The level of SIRT3 in mitochondria was increased by Oroxylin A. Then SIRT3 deacetylated cyclophilin D, diminished its peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase activity and induced its dissociation from the adenine nucleotide translocator. Finally, SIRT3-induced inactivation of cyclophilin D resulted in the detachment of mitochondrial HK II and the inhibition of glycolysis. These results have important implications for the metabolism reprogramming effect and the susceptibility to Oroxylin A-induced mitochondrial cytotoxicity through the regulation of SIRT3 in breast carcinoma.

Gambogic acid, usually isolated as an inseparable stereomeric mixture of C-2 epimers, was newly separated into two epimers (1 and 2) from the gamboges of Garcinia hanburyi. The stereochemistry at C-2 was clearly defined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and direct comparison of NMR and HPLC data with those of the known R-epimer. Both epimers were examined for their cytotoxicities against human leukemia K562 (K562/S) and doxorubicin-resistant K562 (K562/R) cell lines. Different from doxorubicin (IC (50) = 10.78 microM for K562/R and 0.66 microM for K562/S), epimers 1 and 2 exhibited similar activities against both cell lines (IC(50) = 1.32 and 0.89 microM for 1, IC(50) = 1.11 and 0.86 microM for 2). These results suggested that both epimers were not multidrug resistance (MDR) substrates. Furthermore, epimers 1 and 2 were tested for their inhibitory effects against six human cytochrome P-450 enzymes. Epimers 1 and 2 showed little inhibitory effects toward five of the enzymes except CYP2C9. Interestingly, when tested against CYP2C9, S-epimer 2 had an inhibitory effect 20-fold stronger than that of R-epimer 1.

A microwave assisted extraction (MAE) procedure was first developed for the simultaneous determination of isoflavonoids and astragalosides in Radix Astragali (RA). MAE showed the highest extraction efficiency when compared to Soxhlet, reflux, and ultrasonic extraction. It was found that flavonoid glycoside malonates were converted into their related glycosides during the prolonged conventional extraction, thus affecting the reproducibility. However, the conversion was inhibited when using MAE. After being optimized in terms of solvents, microwave power, and irradiation time, MAE was used for the simultaneous determination of isoflavonoids and astragalosides in RA with HPLC-UV-evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). Our results indicated that extraction by MAE was more effective than by other conventional techniques. Moreover, the MAE method followed by HPLC-UV-ELSD determination was a simple, rapid, and reliable method for the quality assessment of RA.