Phytochem Anal. 2016 Nov;27(6):318-325. doi: 10.1002/pca.2622. Epub 2016 Sep 30.
- 1Institute of Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 2+4, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
- 2Albrecht
Daniel Thaer-Institut für Agrar- und Gartenbauwissenschaften,
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Albrecht-Thaer-Weg 5, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
- 3Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Core Facility BioSupraMol, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustr. 3, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
- 4Institute of Pharmacy, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 2+4, 14195, Berlin, Germany. melzig@zedat.fu-berlin.de.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION:
The
medicinal plant Actaea racemosa L. (Ranunculaceae, aka black cohosh) is
widely used to treat climacteric complaints as an alternative to
hormone substitution. Recent trials prove efficacy and safety of the
approved herbal
medicinal products from extracts of pharmaceutical quality. This led to
worldwide increasing sales. A higher demand for the plant material
results in problems with economically motivated adulteration. Thus,
reliable tools for herbal drug authentication are necessary.
OBJECTIVE:
To
develop an economical, plain, and rapid method to distinguish between
closely related American and Asian Actaea species, using securely
established and resilient analytical methods coupled to a chemometric
evaluation of the resulting data.
METHODOLOGY:
We
developed and validated a RP-PDA-HPLC method including an extraction by
ultra-sonication to determine the genuine contents of partly
hydrolysis-sensitive polyphenols in Actaea racemosa roots and rhizomes,
and applied it to a large number of 203 Actaea samples consisting of
seven species.
RESULTS:
We
were able to generate reliable data with regards to the polyphenolic
esters in the samples. The evaluation of this data by principle
component analysis (PCA) made a discrimination between Asian Actaea
species (sheng ma), one American Actaea species (Appalachian bugbane),
and A. racemosa possible.
CONCLUSION:
The developed RP-PDA-HPLC method coupled to PCA is an excellent tool for authentication of the Actaea racemosa herbal
drug, and can be a powerful addition to the TLC methods used in the
dedicated pharmacopoeias, and is a promising alternative to expensive
and lots of expertise requiring methods. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley
& Sons, Ltd.
Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
KEYWORDS:
actaea racemosa; black cohosh; cimicifuga racemosa, sheng ma, 升麻
