Li Wei, Yang Hongru, Yu Chenxi, Zhang Yanqing, Lai Chang-Jiang-Sheng, Xie Junbo
School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Therapeutic Substance of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, China.
School of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, China.
J Chromatogr A. 2025 Aug 30;1757:466116. doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2025.466116. Epub 2025 Jun 4.
Atractylodes macrocephala Koidz. (BZ) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicinal herb, commonly subjected to stir-frying to enhance its therapeutic properties. The essential oil of BZ (BZO), comprising its principal bioactive constituents, undergoes notable changes during thermal processing, although the precise chemical and structural transformations remain inadequately understood. In this study, both raw and systematically stir-frying BZ samples were analyzed to elucidate the effect of processing. Morphological observations revealed progressive microstructure disruption with increasing stir-frying duration. Essential oils were extracted via ultrasonic-assisted petroleum ether extraction and analyzed by GC-MS to determine volatile composition. Stir-frying significantly reduced oil yield and altered the constituent profile: while raw BZO was rich in atractylon, processed BZO exhibited substantial depletion of atractylon and a marked increase in atractylenolides I, II, and III. These compositional changes were further validated by HPLC, which demonstrated a time-dependent conversion of atractylon into its lactone derivatives. Collectively, the results reveal a clear chemical transformation pathway during processing and provide a scientific basis for understanding the traditional processing rationale. This study offers a robust analytical framework for optimizing processing parameters and implementing quality control in both raw and processed BZ preparations.
白术（BZ）是一种广泛应用的传统中药材，通常进行炒制以增强其治疗功效。白术精油（BZO）包含其主要生物活性成分，在热加工过程中会发生显著变化，尽管其精确的化学和结构转变仍未得到充分了解。在本研究中，对生白术和系统炒制的白术样品进行了分析，以阐明加工的影响。形态学观察表明，随着炒制时间的延长，微观结构逐渐破坏。通过超声辅助石油醚萃取法提取精油，并采用气相色谱-质谱联用（GC-MS）分析以确定挥发性成分。炒制显著降低了出油率并改变了成分特征：生白术精油富含苍术酮，而加工后的白术精油中苍术酮大量减少，白术内酯I、II和III显著增加。这些成分变化通过高效液相色谱法（HPLC）进一步得到验证，HPLC表明苍术酮随时间转化为其内酯衍生物。总体而言，结果揭示了加工过程中明确的化学转化途径，并为理解传统加工原理提供了科学依据。本研究为优化加工参数以及对生白术和加工后的白术制剂实施质量控制提供了一个强大的分析框架。
