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Highlights: [•] An HPLC-PDA method for quantifying four types of components in DG was developed. [•] The identities of analytes in samples were further confirmed by UHPLC-QTOF-MS/MS. [•] The effect of five advanced drying methods on the holistic quality of DG was revealed. [•] Hot air-drying keeps the similar chemical composition of dried DG slices with that of fresh DG. [•] Vacuum-drying retains the highest contents of the major components in DG whole roots. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In traditional Chinese medicine practice, crude herbs are often subjected to traditional processing ( Paozhi in Chinese) for a special medicinal purpose. Bran-frying is one of processing methods for Paeoniae Radix Alba (PRA). Previous studies found that paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate, a principle bioactive compound and its sulfur-fumigation induced characteristic sulfur-containing derivative, could be used together with sulfur dioxide residue as chemical markers for the quality control of sulfur-fumigated PRA crude material. In this paper, the feasibility of these three markers used for the quality control of bran-fried sulfur-fumigated PRA was further investigated. First, homemade samples of sulfur-fumigated PRA with different sulfur-fumigation duration (0.5–6 h) were bran-fried, and stored for 12 months. Second, the contents of sulfur dioxide residue, paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate were dynamically quantified respectively. Third, the variation of the marker contents and their correlation during bran-frying and storage was evaluated. A validation was conducted using commercial bran-fried PRA samples. The results showed that bran-frying caused an averaged reduction of 20% in the content of sulfur dioxide residue, and during the first two months of storage the content of sulfur dioxide residue was decreased by up to 27%, then the content was tending towards stability for the subsequent ten months of storage (RSD = 3.92%). Meanwhile, paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate were relatively stable, the contents of which were not affected by bran-frying processing and 12 months of storage. The correlations between the contents of sulfur dioxide residue and paeoniflorin/paeoniflorin sulfonate were obviously influenced by storage duration. Since sulfur dioxide residue is a safety marker, while paeoniflorin and paeoniflorin sulfonate can reflect the inner quality and the impact extent of sulfur-fumigation on the quality of bran-fried PRA respectively, these three chemicals might be used together as markers for the quality control, and consequently to ensure the safety and efficacy of bran-fried PRA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfur fumigation can induce chemical transformation of bioactive components, consequently the alteration of bioactivities or even toxicities of medicinal herbs. Inspecting Chinese patent medicines (CPM) contained sulfur-fumigated constituent herbs is crucial for ensuring the safety and efficacy of CPM. Paeonifiorin sulfonate is a sulfur-fumigation induced compound of Moutan Cortex (MC), one of the main constituent herbs of a commonly used CPM Liu-Wei-Di-Huang-Wan (LWDHW). Herein, we investigated the approach of paeonifiorin sulfonate as a characteristic marker for specifically inspecting LWDHW potentially contained sulfur-fumigated MC (SFMC). First, mimic LWDHW samples contained SFMC (SFMC-LWDHW) and non-fumigated MC (NFMC-LWDHW) were prepared respectively. Second, an LC–MS method was developed and validated to qualitatively and quantitatively determine paeonifiorin sulfonate in the mimic LWDHW samples. Third, the established method was applied to analyze the commercial LWDHW samples. The results showed that paeoniflorin sulfonate could only be detectable in SFMC-LWDHW, but not in NFMC-LWDHW samples. The CPM matrix could enhance the response of paeoniflorin sulfonate in mass spectrometry analysis. In addition, the LOQ, linearity, precision, accuracy and stability were also demonstrated to be acceptable for quantifying paeoniflorin sulfonate in LWDHW. Commercial samples analysis indicated that paeoniflorin sulfonate were detectable in 9 of 10 commercial LWDHW samples, with the content varied between 105.53 μg/g and 438.61 μg/g. All the results suggested that paeoniflorin sulfonate could be used as a characteristic and reliable chemical marker for specifically inspecting commercial LWDHW contained SFMC. This study also provides a new strategy for the quality control of other CPMs potentially produced from sulfur-fumigated constituent herbs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]