Jilin Ginseng Academy, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun 130117, China.
Molecules. 2023 Jul 25;28(15):5630. doi: 10.3390/molecules28155630.
DC. and Willd. have different clinical efficacies, with the former typically used to treat typhoid fever and the latter mainly used to clear liver heat. The differences in their clinical efficacy are closely related to their complex chemical composition, especially the active components. In this study, the saponins and volatile oils in two varieties of Radix Bupleuri grown in different regions were extracted and analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (MS), and the absolute contents of five saikosaponins were accurately quantified using an established HPLC-MS method in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. Multivariate statistical analysis was performed to reveal the difference in the active components between the two varieties. The saikosaponin content was significantly affected by variety and growing region, with all five saikosaponins being significantly higher in DC. than in Willd. The results of principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis show a clear distinction between the two varieties in terms of both saponins and volatile oils. Twenty-one saponins, including saikosaponin b2 and b1, and fifty-two volatile oils, including 2-tetradecyloxirane and chloromethyl cyanide, were screened and identified as differential compounds contributing to the significant difference between the two varieties. These compounds may also be responsible for the difference in clinical efficacy between DC. and Willd. All the results suggest that the accumulation and diversity of active components in Radix Bupleuri are significantly affected by the variety. In contrast to previous reports, this study provides the absolute contents of five saikosaponins in Radix Bupleuri of different varieties and reduces the influence of the growing region on the analytical results by collecting samples from different regions. The results of this study may provide a reference for the identification and quality evaluation of different varieties of Radix Bupleuri.
北柴胡和狭叶柴胡具有不同的临床疗效，前者通常用于治疗伤寒，后者主要用于清肝热。它们临床疗效的差异与其复杂的化学成分密切相关，尤其是活性成分。本研究采用高效液相色谱（HPLC）和气相色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）技术提取并分析了两种不同产地的柴胡中的皂苷类和挥发油类成分，采用建立的 HPLC-MS 方法在多反应监测模式下对五种柴胡皂苷的绝对含量进行了准确定量。采用多元统计分析方法揭示了两种柴胡的活性成分差异。柴胡皂苷的含量明显受到品种和产地的影响，五种柴胡皂苷在北柴胡中的含量均明显高于狭叶柴胡。主成分分析和层次聚类分析的结果表明，两种柴胡在皂苷类和挥发油类成分方面均存在明显差异。筛选并鉴定了 21 种皂苷类成分，包括柴胡皂苷 b2 和 b1，以及 52 种挥发油类成分，包括 2-十四烷环氧乙烷和氯甲基氰，这些成分可能是导致两种柴胡品种差异的原因。这些化合物可能也是导致北柴胡和狭叶柴胡临床疗效差异的原因。所有结果表明，柴胡中活性成分的积累和多样性受品种的影响显著。与以往的报道不同，本研究提供了不同品种柴胡中五种柴胡皂苷的绝对含量，并通过收集不同产地的样品减少了产地对分析结果的影响。本研究结果可为不同品种柴胡的鉴别和质量评价提供参考。
