title: Quality assessment of a formulated Chinese herbal decoction, Kaixinsan, by using rapid resolution liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry: A chemical evaluation of different historical formulae.
abstract: Kaixinsan is an ancient Chinese herbal decoction mainly prescribed for patients suffering from mental depression. This decoction was created by Sun Si-miao of Tang Dynasty (A.D. 600) in ancient China, and was composed of four herbs: Radix and Rhizome Ginseng, Radix Polygalae, Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii and Poria. Historically, this decoction has three different formulations, each recorded at a different point in time. In this study, the chemical compositions of all three Kaixinsan formulae were analyzed. By using rapid resolution LC coupled with a diode-array detector and an ESI triple quadrupole tandem MS (QQQ-MS/MS), the Radix and Rhizome Ginseng-derived ginsenosides including Rb(1), Rd, Re, Rg(1), the Radix Polygalae-derived 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose, the Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii-derived α- and β-asarone and the Poria-derived pachymic acid were compared among the three different formulations. The results showed variations in the solubility of different chemicals between one formula and the others. This systematic method developed could be used for the quality assessment of this herbal decoction.
authors.affiliation: Section of Marine Ecology and Biotechnology, Division of Life Science and Center for Chinese Medicine, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Kevin Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Heidi Q
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Sherry L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Anna W H
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: Ken Y Z
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Wilson K W
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Luk
authors.forename: Roy C Y
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: David T W
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Tina T X
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Zhi Y
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Ji J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Karl W K
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Tsim
mesh_terms: D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; D011786:Quality Control; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal