Cao Baorui, Wang Zhiying, Zhang Jiayi, Fu Jialei, Zhang Zhongwen, Du Jinxin, Deng Tingting, Pang Jingxiang, Yang Meina, Han Jinxiang
Biomedical Sciences College and Shandong Medicinal Biotechnology Centre, First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong First Medical University and Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China.
NHC Key Laboratory of Biotechnology Drugs, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, China.
Front Pharmacol. 2023 Mar 20;14:1140117. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2023.1140117. eCollection 2023.
The quality of Chinese herbs is the basis for ensuring their safety and efficacy. However, the quality evaluation system is imperfect. In particular, there is a lack of quality evaluation methods for fresh Chinese herbs during growth. The biophoton is a common phenomenon and provides complete information about the interior of the living system, which is consistent with the holistic concept of traditional Chinese medicine. Therefore, we aim to correlate the biophoton characteristics with the quality states to find the biophoton parameters that can characterize the quality states of fresh Chinese herbs. The biophoton characteristics of motherwort and safflower were measured and characterized by the counts per second (CPS) in the steady state and the initial intensity (I) and coherent time (T) of delayed luminescence. The active ingredient content was measured by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). The pigment content of motherwort leaves was measured by UV spectrophotometry. The t-test and correlation analysis were performed on the experimental results. The CPS and I of motherwort and I of safflower showed a significant downward trend during the growth process, and their active ingredient content showed a trend that increased and then decreased. The CPS, I, and the content of active ingredients and pigments in a healthy state were significantly higher than those in a poor state, while T showed the opposite results. The CPS and I were all significantly and positively correlated with the content of active ingredients and pigments, while the T of motherwort showed the opposite results. It is feasible to identify the quality states of fresh Chinese herbs by using their biophoton characteristics. Both CPS and I have better correlations with the quality states and can be considered characteristic parameters of the quality of fresh Chinese herbs.
中药材质量是确保其安全性和有效性的基础。然而，质量评价体系尚不完善。特别是在生长过程中的鲜用中药材缺乏质量评价方法。生物光子是一种普遍现象，能提供关于生命系统内部的完整信息，这与中医的整体观念相符。因此，我们旨在将生物光子特征与质量状态相关联，以找到能够表征鲜用中药材质量状态的生物光子参数。通过稳态下的每秒计数（CPS）以及延迟发光的初始强度（I）和相干时间（T）来测量和表征益母草和红花的生物光子特征。采用超高效液相色谱法（UPLC）测定活性成分含量。用紫外分光光度法测定益母草叶片色素含量。对实验结果进行t检验和相关性分析。益母草的CPS和I以及红花的I在生长过程中呈显著下降趋势，其活性成分含量呈先升高后降低的趋势。健康状态下的CPS、I以及活性成分和色素含量均显著高于不良状态，而T则呈现相反结果。益母草的T呈现相反结果。利用生物光子特征识别鲜用中药材的质量状态是可行的。CPS和I与质量状态均具有较好的相关性，可作为鲜用中药材质量的特征参数。
