Jiangsu Key Laboratory for TCM Formulae Research, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210046, China.
Molecules. 2010 Jan 15;15(1):341-51. doi: 10.3390/molecules15010341.
Phthalides are important bio-active constituents in Si-Wu-Tang and Fo-Shou-San, two commonly used Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) combined prescriptions mainly derived from Radix Angelica and Rhizoma Chuanxiong. In this paper, the contents of eight phthalides, including Z-ligustilide, E-ligustilide, Z-butylenephthalide, E-butylene-phthalide, 3-butylphthalide, neocnidilide and senkyunolide A were determined or estimated by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The results showed GC-MS was a simple, rapid, and high sensitive method for analyzing phthalides in Si-Wu-Tang, Fo-Shou-San, Radix Angelica and Rhizoma Chuanxiong, and the extractable contents of each phthalides including Z-ligustilide, E-ligustilide, Z-butylenephthalide, etc. varied after Radix Angelica, Rhizoma Chuanxiong were combined into a formulation, such as Si-Wu-Tang and Fo-Shou-San. Furthermore, inhibition activity of essential oils from Si-Wu-Tang, Fo-Shou-San, Radix Angelica and Rhizoma Chuanxiong on uterine contraction was tested in an in vitro assay, and the results showed that the activity of the essential oil is higher as the content of the phthalides increase, which demonstrated that phthalides are possibly main active components inhibiting mice uterine contraction in vitro. All of the results suggested that comparative analysis of chemical components and pharmacological activities of each herb and formula is possibly helpful to elucidate the active components in traditional Chinese medicine, and to reveal the compatibility mechanism of TCM formulae.
香豆素是四物汤和佛手散这两种常用的中药复方的重要生物活性成分，主要来源于当归和川芎。本文采用气相色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）法测定了 8 种香豆素（Z-藁本内酯、E-藁本内酯、Z-丁烯基内脂、E-丁烯基内脂、3-丁基苯酞、新蛇床内酯和川芎嗪）的含量。结果表明，GC-MS 法是分析四物汤、佛手散、当归和川芎中香豆素的一种简单、快速、高灵敏度的方法，且当归、川芎组合成方后，各香豆素（如 Z-藁本内酯、E-藁本内酯、Z-丁烯基内脂等）的提取含量会发生变化。此外，还在体外试验中测试了四物汤、佛手散、当归和川芎精油对子宫收缩的抑制活性，结果表明，随着香豆素含量的增加，精油的活性越高，这表明香豆素可能是体外抑制小鼠子宫收缩的主要活性成分。所有结果表明，对各草药和配方的化学成分和药理活性进行比较分析，可能有助于阐明中药的活性成分，并揭示中药复方的配伍机制。
