Identification and Differentiation of Bear Bile Used in Medicinal Products in Taiwan

Abstract

One hundred eighty-three suspect bear bile used in medicinal products, collected in Taiwan as gall bladders or dried powder forms, were analyzed using FTIR, HPTLC, and HPLC techniques to identify whether they are indeed bear bile. Those confirmed were further examined to determine whether the observed analytical parameters can be reliably used for source inference, i.e., differentiating products among North American black bear, farmed Asiatic black bear, polar bear, etc. Our data suggested that North American and polar bears contain a higher concentration of TC (relative to TUDC and TCDC), whereas the relative concentration of TC in Asiatic bears (wild or farmed) is much lower. Thus, the relative concentration of TC can potentially be used for differentiating Asiatic bear bile from North American and polar bear products, but it cannot be used for the differentiation of wild and farmed bear bile as suggested in an earlier report by Espinoza et al. The origin of the 183 samples analyzed were found to be as follows: 118 (64%), bile salts, or gall bladders were of domestic pig; 56 (31%), bile products of Asiatic bear; 4 (2.2%), Asiatic bear mixed with pig bile salts; 3 (1.6%) goat gall bladders; 1 (0.55%) water buffalo bile salts; and 1 (0.55%), pig bile salts mixed with water buffalo bile salts.

Chemical genomics: Functional analysis of orphan nuclear receptors in the regulation of bile acid metabolism

“…Dried extracts of bear bile have been used in oriental folk remedies for thousands of years for their medicinal properties, 3,4 and the bile acids present in these extracts were among the ®rst natural products to be isolated in pure form. 5 The primary bile acids present in humans are cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA).…”

A DNA‐Based Approach for the Forensic Identification of Asiatic Black Bear (Ursus thibetanus) in a Traditional Asian Medicine*

“…The UT primers, designed using previously published U. thibetanus sequences, allowed U. thibetanus DNA to be amplified from these samples. These primers are therefore more appropriate for samples containing mixed species DNA, either as a result of contamination or the adulteration of the bile with that of other known species, such as pig or goat (6). …”

“…Lin et al. (6) proposed that the species could be derived from the relative concentrations of the different bile acids detected. Seasonal changes in bile acid composition have, however, been reported in U. americanus (19) which may limit the accuracy of this method for species identification.…”

“…The primers were designed to mismatch the human sequence to prevent amplification of human DNA, a likely contaminant introduced during manufacture or subsequent handling. Furthermore, the primers were designed to mismatch the cyt b sequences of cow, goat, sheep, and pig DNA (Table 2) as bile from these species is often fraudulently sold as, or mixed with, bear bile (6). …”

Densitometric Determination of Ursodeoxycholic Acid in Pharmaceutical Formulations in Form of Tablets and Capsules

“…The methods of bile acids determination in pharmaceutical preparations such as: HPLC and HPTLC with fluorescence detection of bile acids and also capillary electroforesis allow for analysis of pharmacological active bile acids like: ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), dehydrocholic acid (DHCA), deoxycholic acid (DCA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) in respective drugs. [5][6][7] The aim of this work was to find the optimum chromatographic conditions for quantitative determination of ursodeoxycholic acid in selected pharmaceutical formulations with the use of TLC densitometric method. TLC and HPTLC with UV-densitometric detection were used for analysis of many pharmaceutical products like: fusidic acid, piperine, oxcarbazepine, levetiracetam, rivastigmine.…”