A Simultaneous Determination of Principal Compounds in Tokishakuyakusan by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detector

Abstract

We developed a simultaneous analysis method using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD) for six principal compounds (atractylenolide III, alisol A, alisol B, paeoniflorin, ferulic acid and (Z)-ligustilide) in a traditional Japanese (Kampo) medicine, tokishakuyakusan (TSS). The HPLC separation was conducted on a reversed-phase TSK-gel ODS-80TS column (4.6 i.d. × 250 mm, 5 µm) at 40°C with a 0.1% phosphoric acid-acetonitrile gradient system. The DAD detection wavelength was set at 205, 232 and 330 nm. Calibration curves for the compounds showed linear regressions with correlation coefficients of >0.999. The intra- and inter-day precision (i.e., the relative standard deviation) were in the range of 0.50-1.55 and 0.70-1.80%, respectively. The average recovery yields of the compounds ranged from 98.3 to 103%. The present results will contribute to shorter analysis times with less organic solvent compared with the individual analysis of each compound for the evaluation of TSS. The application of the established method to TSS will also provide helpful information for the further pharmacological and clinical studies.

Toki-shakuyaku-san, a Japanese kampo medicine, reduces colon inflammation in a mouse model of acute colitis

“…Almost 150 kampo formulations have been approved as prescription drugs by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan, and the treatment with kampo medicine is a symptom-and patient-based, therefore, a form of tailor-made drug therapy [16]. Toki-shakuyaku-san (TOKI; "Dang gui shao yao san" in Chinese) is a traditional kampo medicine, which is widely used in Japan, Korea and China to improve blood circulation and to treat various gynecological disorders such as irregular menstruation, dysmenorrhea, endometriosis, menopausal syndromes and sterility [17][18][19][20][21][22]. The TOKI kampo formulation is made from six different herbs such as Hoelin (Fu ling), Cnidium rhizome (Chuan xiong), Angelica sinensis (Dang gui), Peony root (Shao yao), Atractylodes rhizome (Bai zhu), and Alisma rhizome (Ze xie) [23].…”

Therapeutic potential of Rhizoma Alismatis: a review on ethnomedicinal application, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology

“…Tokishakuyakusan ( Dang Gui Shao Yao San in Chinese) contains RA and is widely used in Japan, China, and Korea to treat gynecological diseases, including endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation, menopausal syndrome, and sterility . It enhances blood flow and release of acetylcholine and prevents neuronal damage …”