Quality Evaluation of Jiegeng Decoction Material Benchmarks by High Performance Liquid Chromatography Fingerprint with Chemometrics

To investigate the quality control method for Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks, the title research was conducted. With 12 batches of Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks as research object, high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） fingerprints were established, and common peaks were identified by comparing with reference fingerprint. Similarity evaluation system for chromatographic fingerprint of traditional Chinese medicine （2012.130723 edition） was used for similarity evaluation. Ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight tandem mass spectrometry （UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS） was employed for the qualitative identification of Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks. Chemometric methods including cluster analysis （CA）, principal component analysis （PCA） and orthogonal partial least squares-discriminant analysis （OPLS-DA） were used to find the main difference components affecting the quality. The antioxidant activity of the Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks was evaluated by determining the scavenging rate of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl （DPPH） free radicals, and the spectrum-effect relationship model between the common peaks in the Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks and antioxidant activity was established using partial least squares regression analysis method. As shown by the results, 7 common peaks were obtained from the HPLC fingerprints of 12 batches of Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks. 3 components （liquiritin, isoliquiritin, glycyrrhizic acid） were identified, all of which were attributed to Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. herbs, and the similarity was greater than 0.900. 75 chemical components were identified by UHPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS, of which 13 chemical components were attributed to Platycodon grandiflorus （Jacq.） A.DC. herbs and 57 chemical components were attributed to Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. herbs. 12 batches of Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks were classified into 3 categories by CA and OPLS-DA. 2 principal components were obtained by PCA, with cumulative variance contribution rate of 92.001%. 4 differential components that effect the overall quality of the Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks were obtained by OPLS-DA, including glycyrrhizic acid and 3 unknown substances. The spectrum-effect relationship model indicated that glycyrrhizic acid and 3 unknown substances were the key components for scavenging DPPH free radicals, and the antioxidant activity of the Jiegeng decoction material benchmarks was directly affected by the above 4 chemical compounds.