Xiangyang Public Inspection and Testing Center, Xiangyang 441000, China.
Molecules. 2022 Dec 16;27(24):8964. doi: 10.3390/molecules27248964.
Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHMs) can be identified by experts according to their odors. However, the identification of these medicines is subjective and requires long-term experience. The samples of Acanthopanacis Cortex and Periplocae Cortex used were dried cortexes, which are often confused in the market due to their similar appearance, but their chemical composition and odor are different. The clinical use of the two herbs is different, but the phenomenon of being confused with each other often occurs. Therefore, we used an electronic nose (E-nose) to explore the differences in odor information between the two species for fast and robust discrimination, in order to provide a scientific basis for avoiding confusion and misuse in the process of production, circulation and clinical use. In this study, the odor and volatile components of these two medicinal materials were detected by the E-nose and by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), respectively. An E-nose combined with pattern analysis methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) was used to discriminate the cortex samples. The E-nose was used to determine the odors of the samples and enable rapid differentiation of Acanthopanacis Cortex and Periplocae Cortex. GC-MS was utilized to reveal the differences between the volatile constituents of Acanthopanacis Cortex and Periplocae Cortex. In all, 82 components including 9 co-contained components were extracted by chromatographic peak integration and matching, and 24 constituents could be used as chemical markers to distinguish these two species. The E-nose detection technology is able to discriminate between Acanthopanacis Cortex and Periplocae Cortex, with GC-MS providing support to determine the material basis of the E-nose sensors' response. The proposed method is rapid, simple, eco-friendly and can successfully differentiate these two medicinal materials by their odors. It can be applied to quality control links such as online detection, and also provide reference for the establishment of other rapid detection methods. The further development and utilization of this technology is conducive to the further supervision of the quality of CHMs and the healthy development of the industry.
中草药可以通过专家根据气味来鉴别。然而，这种鉴别方法是主观的，需要长期的经验。本研究使用的杠柳皮和白首乌皮样品均为干燥的皮部，由于外观相似，在市场上经常混淆，但它们的化学成分和气味不同。两种草药的临床应用不同，但经常相互混淆。因此，我们使用电子鼻（E-nose）来探索两种物种之间气味信息的差异，以便快速准确地进行区分，为避免在生产、流通和临床使用过程中混淆和误用提供科学依据。在这项研究中，分别使用电子鼻和气相色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）检测这两种药材的气味和挥发性成分。采用电子鼻结合主成分分析（PCA）和偏最小二乘法（PLS）等模式分析方法对皮部样品进行区分。电子鼻用于确定样品的气味，实现对杠柳皮和白首乌皮的快速区分。GC-MS 用于揭示杠柳皮和白首乌皮挥发性成分的差异。通过色谱峰积分和匹配共提取 82 种成分，包括 9 种共含有成分，其中 24 种成分可作为化学标记物用于区分这两种药材。电子鼻检测技术能够区分杠柳皮和白首乌皮，GC-MS 为确定电子鼻传感器响应的物质基础提供支持。该方法快速、简单、环保，能够成功地根据气味区分这两种药材。它可以应用于在线检测等质量控制环节，也为建立其他快速检测方法提供了参考。进一步开发和利用这项技术有助于进一步监管中草药的质量，促进行业的健康发展。
