Preliminary Studies On Quality Assessment Of Sulphur Fumigation And Radiation Sterilization On Traditional Chinese Medicines

Objective: This study evaluated the impact of sulphur fumigation or radiation sterilization on the quality of Traditional Chinese Medicines( TCMs) by comparison of the characters, the active ingredients and the fingerprints of TCMs. We evaluated samples acquired by sampling inspection in the domestic markets, and sulphur fumigated or radiated TCMs made in the laboratory by our research group. We mainly studied Radix paeoniae alba, Codonopsis pilosula, Radix gentianae, Rhubarb and Gushengantaifen which is a Chinese patent medicine. We aimed to establish a scientific and reasonable basis for preliminary processing and sterilization methods of TCMs and also finished some beneficial exploration for the quality evaluation and the improvement of the national standards of TCMs.Method: 1.By observing the color and smelling of sulphur fumigated samples to judge whether there was impact of sulfur fumigation on the properties of the samples. 2. By measuring the active ingredients of sulphur fumigated Radix paeoniae alba and Codonopsis pilosula to judge whether there was impact of sulfur fumigation on the active ingredients of TCMs. 3. By HPLC or UPLC methods, we established fingerprints of sulfur fumigation / irradiated herbs, and used chemical dosimetry software to analyze the impacts. 4. By means of mass spectrometry, we identified the chromatographic peaks whose chemical compositions changed, and analyzed the changed chemical compositions.Results: 1. Results showed that the color of fumigated Radix paeoniae alba and Codonopsis pilosula became lighter and the peculiar smell disappeared; 2. The determination of the contents of paeoniflorin in Radix paeoniae alba and the contents of lobetyolin in Codonopsis pilosula after fumigation showed that the contents of paeoniflorin and lobetyolin declined significantly; 3. The determination of the contents of gentiopicroside in Radix gentianae and rheum emodin in Rhubarb showed that after irradiation, there was no obvious change of the active ingredients in rhubarb, but the contents of gentiopicroside declined expressively; 4. The analysis of fingerprints of sulfur fumigated Radix paeoniae alba and Codonopsis pilosula indicated that the fingerprints of Codonopsis pilosula and Radix Paeoniae Alba changed; 5. Mass spectrometry data expressed that after sulfur fumigation, the paeoniflorin in Radix Paeoniae alba converted to paeoniflorin sulfonate,and lobetyolin degraded; 6 The analysis of fingerprints of Radix gentianae stated that after irradiation the fingerprints changed, but there was no obvious impact on Rhubarb or Gushenantaifen after irradiation sterilization. Conclusion: There was a severe impact on the quality of Radix paeoniae alba and Codonopsis pilosula after sulfur fumigation, and the sulfur fumigation process should be strictly restricted. But data also showed that radiation sterilization is meaningful and acceptable to some extent, and the in-depth research was needed. Innovation point: 1.The establishment of TCM fingerprints of Codonopsis pilosula, Radix gentianae and Gushengantaifen. 2. The prediction and confirmation of the converted components of sulphur fumigated Radix paeoniae alba and Codonopsis pilosula. 3 Setting up the general detection methods of sulphur fumigated and irradiated TCMs.