Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China.
Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Chinese Medicinal Resources Industrialization, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210023, China; National Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical New Technology for Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Lianyungang 222001, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Apr 6;233:169-178. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.01.004. Epub 2019 Jan 9.
Gardenia jasminoides fruit (GJF) is used as a well-known traditional folk medicine, a food and a natural colorant in Asia with a long history. The herbal medicine has usually been harvested in the autumn from September to November. However, this time span is too long and might result in the quality instability of GJF.
We aimed to conduct the comprehensive quality evaluation of GJF including the quantitative analysis of the bioactive components and the main bioactivities, and further to determine the most appropriate harvest time of this phytomedicine.
In this study, an UFLC-Q-TRAP-MS/MS method was established to quantify 7 iridoid glycosides (geniposide, geniposidic acid, secoxyloganin, gardenoside, genipin 1-gentiobioside, scandoside methyl ester, and shanzhiside), 7 phenylpropanoid acids (chlorogenic acid, cryptochlorogenic acid, neochlorogenic acid, isochlorogenic acid A, isochlorogenic acid B, isochlorogenic acid C, and caffeic acid) and 2 carotenoids (crocin-1 and crocin-2) in GJF. With this method, nine samples of GJF harvested at different times were analyzed and compared. These samples were also investigated and compared in terms of their antioxidant activity (DPPH free radical scavenging, ABTS free radical scavenging, ferric-reducing antioxidation) and anti-influenza activity (neuraminidase inhibition), which are closely related to the GJF efficacies. Then, hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) was separately performed for the quantitative analysis and bioactivity evaluation in vitro.
The HCA results demonstrated that three GJF samples (S5, S6, and S7) were clustered into one group for both quantitative analysis and bioactivity evaluation in vitro; these three samples were found to have the highest standardized scores in both the former (12.775, 12.106, 10.817) and the latter (3.406, 3.374, 3.440). Based on the comprehensive results, the optimum harvest period was confirmed to extend from mid-October to early-November.
This study firstly validated the use of UFLC-Q-TRAP-MS/MS method for the determination of 16 bioactive components in GJF. It was also the first time that a quantitative analysis and a bioactivity assay in vitro were integrated for the determination of the most appropriate harvest period of GJF. We hope this paper may provide some reference to studies of appropriate harvest periods and even the quality control of TCMs.
草药的最佳收获期是一个重要的研究课题。本研究旨在对栀子果实（GJF）进行综合质量评价，包括生物活性成分的定量分析和主要生物活性，并进一步确定这种草药的最佳收获时间。栀子果实（GJF）作为一种著名的传统民间药物，在亚洲被广泛用作食品和天然着色剂，已有悠久的历史。传统上，这种草药通常在秋季从 9 月到 11 月收获。然而，这个时间跨度太长，可能导致 GJF 的质量不稳定。
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