Scanning Electron Microscopy and Liquid Chromatography for Physical and Chemical Inspection of Industrial Pharmaceutical Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine

Abstract

Multiherbal preparation of Coptidis rhizoma, Scutellariae radix, and Rhei rhizoma is a well-known herbal formula, which is widely used in the prescription for relieving heat toxicity, inflammation of the intestine, and eczema. However, little is known about the characteristics of the physical and chemical qualities of industrial pharmaceutical products. The aim of the study is to develop a liquid chromatography system to examine the quality and quantity of pharmaceutical products. Besides scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy photographs with Congo red staining and iodine–KI staining were used for physical examination of the quality of the pharmaceutical products. A reverse-phase C18 column was used to separate the analytes of baicalin, berberine, rhein, and p-hydroxybenzoate (internal standard) with a gradient eluent mobile phase of acetonitrile and 10 mM NaH2PO4 (pH 3.0, adjusted by orthophosphoric acid). The results demonstrated that a large variety of content range presents among the testing herbal pharmaceutical products. The contents of rhein, baicalin, and berberine were around 0.22–22.46, 0.44–50.79, and 0.41–2.48 mg/g, respectively. The physical examination data demonstrated that different brands of industrial pharmaceutical products have different shapes of granules or rods. In summary, to ensure the clinical efficacy of complicated herbal medicine, both quality and quantity controls are all very important. This study provides a reference standard operating procedure guide for the quality control (QC) with chemical and physical examination for the Chinese herbal pharmaceutical products of San–Huang–Xie–Xin–Tang (SHXXT).

Preclinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Coptidis Preparation in Combination with Lovastatin in High-Fat Diet-Induced Hyperlipidemic Rats

“…After comparison of the purchased specimens from the National Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Taiwan, the two sets of samples were determined to be the same. The content of berberine from the original Coptidis preparation was 1.03 ± 0.01 mg/g, and its extraction ratio was 15% …”

“…The content of berberine from the original Coptidis preparation was 1.03 ± 0.01 mg/g, and its extraction ratio was 15%. 33 Lovastatin, lovastatin acid, and internal standard stock solutions were prepared in methanol and diluted to the required concentrations with 50% methanol. Both the analyte standard solutions and internal standard solutions were stored at −20 °C before the experiments were performed.…”

A Wearable Bracelet for Simultaneous Monitoring of Transcutaneous Carbon Dioxide and Pulse Rates

“…Among the available methods for pulse rate detection, video‐based monitoring approaches have gained attention due to their affordability and suitability for nonclinical purposes. [ 19,20 ] Remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) is a technique that exploits the differential light absorption properties of blood cells and surrounding tissues. As a result, any changes in blood flow are manifested in the light that is transmitted or reflected from adjacent areas.…”