The Study Of Polyporus Umbellatus's Quality Specification In Chinese Pharmacopoeia And Pharmacokinetic Study Of Ergosterol In P. Umbellatus

The Traditional Chinese Medicine Polyporus umbellatus which is prepared from the dried sclerotia of P. umbellatus (Pers.) Fries (Polyporaceae) is used as diuretic drug commonly. It is distributed in most regions of China, in which Shaanxi, Yunnan, Henan, Shanxi are the main producing areas, and the largest quantity in Yunnan, the best quality in Shaanxi. P. umbellatus was first described in Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing. It has been used as a folk medicine in China for more than 2500 years. According to the records in Chinese Pharmacopoeia edition 2010, it has sweet, slight flavors, mild propoty, with the function of removing dampness and promoting dieresis. So it's often used to do with difficulty in micturition, dropsyedema, diarrhea, stranguria with turbid discharge and fluor.Although P. umbellatus is used frequently as traditional Chinese Medicine, every item of its quality specification in Chinese Pharmacopoeia is not perfection. It brings a lot of inconvenience to the quality control in medical material and decoction pieces of P. umbellatus, so it's important to perfect the quality specification of it. On the basis of repeated experiments, we optimize its distinguish conditions of TLC and HPLC. An HPLC method was adopted for the determination of ergosterol in medical material and decoction pieces of P. umbellatus of different batclles and the content limitation was established simultaneously. In addition, we determined the moisture content, ash content, and extract content. From all above, the quality specification of P. umbellatus in edition 2010 Chinese Pharmacopoeia was established and was verified by National Institutes for Food and Drug Control.The modern research of P. umbellatus mostly focus on cultivation techniques, and chemical constituents, however, the pharmacokinetic study of ergosterol in P. umbellatus is rare. HPLC-UV method was developed for identification and quantification of ergosterol in rat plasma, urine, and feces. The results will provide theoretical basis and experimental data for the further studies of diuresis activity of P. umbellatus, as well as the important theoretical significance and value of clinical applications.