THE QUANTITATIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS FOR MAIN BIO-ACTIVE COMPONENTS IN ANGELICA SINENSIS, LIGUSTICUM CHUANXIONG , AND THE HERB PAIR GUI-XIONG.

A comparative quantitative analysis of major bioactive components including three aromatic acids (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid) and four phthalides (senkyunolide I, senkyunolide H, Z-ligustilide, and Z-butylidenephthalide) in Angelica sinensis (DG), Ligusticum chuanxiong (CX), and the herb pair “Gui-Xiong” with seven ratios and three preparation methods was carried out by a simple HPLC coupled with photodiode array detection (PAD). The aim was to evaluate the content changes of seven bioactive components, to reveal the compatibility rule of the herb pair Gui-Xiong, and to establish a material basis for interpreting pharmacological effect changes. The results showed that water extracts of Gui-Xiong could better increase the dissolution of aromatic acids and phthalides in comparison with a single herb. Additionally, the contents of total acids in ethanol and water-alcohol extracts of DG, Gui-Xiong, and CX were higher as the proportionality coefficient of CX increased. The contents of total phthalides in water extracts of Gui-Xiong were higher as the proportionality coefficient of CX increased, while the contents of total phthalides in ethanol and water-alcohol extracts of Gui-Xiong changed erratically. The same extract method caused the contents of total phthalides in DG, Gui-Xiong, and CX to be higher than the content of total acids. Additionally, some chemical correlations were tested with their pharmacological effects changed. These research results can be helpful to illustrate the drug interactions during the decoction process of herb pairs according to the quantity changes of these marker compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]