HPLC-DAD Fingerprints Combined With Multivariate Analysis of Epimedii Folium From Major Producing Areas in Eastern Asia: Effect of Geographical Origin and Species

Abstract

The growth location and plant variety may influence the active components and biological activities of plants used in phytomedicine. In this study, nine sets of different Epimedii Folium, from different representative cultivation locations and Epimedium species, were collected for comparison, using HPLC-DAD combined with multivariate analysis. The objective was to investigate the influence of geographical origin and Epimedium species on the quality of Epimedii Folium, and provide applicable guidance for cultivation and quality control of Epimedii Folium. Several Epimedium spp. sets were used to establish the HPLC-DAD fingerprints and 91 peaks (compounds) were selected for the multivariate analysis. Major compounds were analyzed by HPLC-DAD combined with principal component analysis (PCA). HPLC quantitative analysis of known bioactive compounds was performed. Application of PCA to HPLC data showed that Epimedium samples sharing the same geographical origin or species clustered together, indicating that both species and geographical origin have impacts on the quality of Epimedii Folium. The major bioactive flavonoid compounds, epimedin C, icariin and baohuoside I, were identified and quantified. The concentration of bioactive compounds was significantly influenced both by species and geographical origin. E. sagittatum from Sichuan showed the highest content of bioactive compounds. The results showed that both Epimedium species and geographical origin have strong impact into quality of Epimedii Folium. HPLC data combined with multivariate analysis is a suitable approach to inform the selection of cultivation areas and choose Epimedium spp. most suitable for different geographical areas, resulting in improved quality of Epimedii Folium.

A Systematic Study of Yiqi Qubai Standard Decoction for Treating Vitiligo Based on UPLC-Q-TOF/MS Combined with Chemometrics, Molecular Docking, and Cellular and Zebrafish Assays

“…The time window width was set to 0.1 min, and the median method was selected for full-spectrum peak matching. The simulated average fingerprint R was generated, the similarity between the sample and the average fingerprint R was calculated, and then the common peaks that existed in each herb were observed [21]. A chemometric analysis including HCA and PCA was used to examine the similarities and differences between the samples [22].…”

“…As the raw material of a standard decoction, the quality of the TCM herbs is affected by origin, harvesting season, storage time, processing method, etc., which largely determines the efficacy of TCM preparations. The TCM fingerprint is a comprehensive, quantifiable technology that can provide more detailed information regarding the type and contents of the TCM components [20,21]. As data mining methods have developed, chemometrics has gained more and more attention because it can simplify complex data and uncover hidden patterns.…”

Prenylflavonoids isolated from Epimedii Herba show inhibition activity against advanced glycation end-products

“…In Japan, the crude drugs listed in the Japanese Pharmacopeia and EH extracts are usually included in energy drinks for tonicity. Its main ingredients are prenylated flavonoids (Ma et al, 2011;Li et al, 2021), especially icariin (Figure 1), which suppresses nerve degeneration, improves cognitive function in neurological disorders (Guo et al, 2010), and has neuroprotective effects (Li et al, 2022). It has also been suggested that icariin inhibits AGE-derived neuropathy in PC12 cells (Zhao et al, 2019); RAGE might be a potential target for Epimedium's antineuroinflammatory role in vascular dementia, which is an insight from network pharmacology and molecular simulation (Yuan et al, 2023), and extracts including icariin may reduce the risk of atherosclerosis by inhibiting the formation of AGEs on HDL (Kim and Shim, 2019).…”

Metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis of the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway in Epimedium sagittatum (Sieb. et Zucc.) Maxim. from distinct locations

“…To date, over 300 compounds have been identified within the Epimedium genus, including four specific compounds: epimedin A, B, C and icariin ( Ren et al., 2018 ), which serve as bioactive markers for Epimedium ’s quality control ( Xie et al., 2010 ; Ma et al., 2011 ). China has abundant wild resources of Epimedium , with considerable variation in the levels of these four compounds, impacting the raw material’s final quality ( Li et al., 2021 ). Although several studies have been reported the accumulation of these main compounds in Epimedium , there are still lacking reports for some populations of wild Epimedium , such the ESMs.…”