Analysis of Spectrum-Efficacy Relationship Between Fingerprint and Antioxidant Activity of Polysaccharide in Atractylodes Macrocephala

The quality of 38 batches of Atractylodes macrocephala polysaccharides from different producing regions was evaluated by the method of combining high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint, antioxidant activity and multivariate statistical analysis. Atractylodes macrocephala polysaccharides were hydrolyzed with trifluoroacetic acid and then derivatized with 1-phenyl-3-methyl-5-pyrazolinone. The derivatives of monosaccharides were determined by HPLC to obtain fingerprint. 1,1-Diphenyl-2-trinitrophenylhydrazine (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity, hydroxyl radical scavenging capacity and total Fe³⁺ reduction capacity were used as indicators to determine the antioxidant activity. The results were also subjected to multivariate statistical analysis including similarity analysis, hierarchical clustering analysis and partial least square-discriminant analysis. As shown by the results, five common peaks (rhamnose, galacturonic acid, glucose, galactose and arabinose) were identified in the fingerprint of Atractylodes macrocephala. Based on the multivariate statistical analysis, the samples of Atractylodes macrocephala from Zhejiang, Anhui, Hebei and Sichuan were significantly separated. In addition, galacturonic acid and galactose were selected as potential chemical markers, and the antioxidant activity from DPPH radical scavenging capacity could be used as a candidate detection index to assist identification.