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Simultaneous quantitative analyses of five constituents in crude and salt-processed Cuscutae Semen using a validated high-performance thin-layer chromatography method

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Abstract

Predominantly, the innate medicinal value of Cuscutae Semen has accounted for its extensive usage as a herbal remedy in China for centuries. Specifically, the broad applications of the medicine include aging inhibitors, anti-inflammatory agents, pain relievers, and aphrodisiacs. According to the records of crude Cuscutae Semen (CCS) and salt-processed Cuscutae Semen (PCS) in the Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China, the difference in the chemical composition between CCS and PCS is limited. In addition, an unprecedented high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) method intended for the simultaneous quantitative determination of rutin, chlorogenic acid, hyperin, isoquercitrin, and astragalin in CCS and PCS was successfully developed. In order to achieve optimum separation, a mobile phase of ethyl acetate–formic acid–water–toluene (9:1:1:0.5, V/V) was cautiously integrated. Moreover, the densitometric determination method was executed at specified wavelengths for various standard compounds in refection/absorption mode. In particular, the calibration curves appeared to be linear in the range of 32.64–1139.19 ng per spot for rutin, 12.94–1048.36 ng per spot for chlorogenic acid, 13.71–1110.17 ng per spot for hyperin, 1.16–297.83 ng per spot for isoquercitrin, and 2.19–710.55 ng per spot for astragalin. The proposed method is simple, precise, specific, and accurate. The statistical analysis of the data obtained proves that the method is reproducible and selective, and can be used for the routine analysis of the reported compounds in CCS and PCS samples. This study could be benefit to investigate the processing mechanism of PCS as well as support their clinical applications.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 81773902, 81973484), Major Projects of Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (No. 21KJA360005), and a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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  1. Yun Shi and Junjie Jin have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, 210046, People’s Republic of China

    Yun Shi, Xiao Liu & Weidong Li

  2. School of Pharmacy, Jiangsu Ocean University, Lianyungang, 222005, People’s Republic of China

    Yun Shi, Changli Xu, Yusha Liang, Xun Gao & Kunming Qin

  3. Nanjing Haiyuan Prepared Slices of Chinese Crude Drugs Co. Ltd, Nanjing, 210061, People’s Republic of China

    Junjie Jin

  4. Jiangsu Yuanchuang Pharmaceutical Research and Development Co., Ltd., Lianyungang, 222005, People’s Republic of China

    Xun Gao

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  1. Yun Shi
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  3. Changli Xu
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Correspondence to Kunming Qin or Weidong Li.

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Shi, Y., Jin, J., Xu, C. et al. Simultaneous quantitative analyses of five constituents in crude and salt-processed Cuscutae Semen using a validated high-performance thin-layer chromatography method. JPC-J Planar Chromat 35, 421–430 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00764-022-00196-y

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