Asian Journal
Of Traditional Medicines

Abstract: A combination method of fingerprint analysis and antioxidant analysis was developed and validated in order to evaluate the quality consistency of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) / Dan Shen (DS). In the fingerprint analysis nine major chromatographic peaks were detected in DS sample, which were identified as: Protocatechuic acid (PHA), Protocatechualdehyde (PHD), Rosmarinic acid (RMA), Caffeic acid (CFA), Tanshinone IIA (T2A), Salvianolic acid B (SAB), Lithospermic acid (LSA), Propanoic acid (PPA), Salvianolic acid A (SAA). In the antioxidant analysis, IC50 and antioxidant capacity of the individual markers was successfully measured and predicted coupled with partial least squares regression (PLSR). This study indicated that the antioxidant activity, and the associated fingerprint analysis based on systematically quantified fingerprint method (SQFM) could assess the quality of TCM efficiently and credibly.

Key words: Dan Shen, HPLC fingerprint, antioxidant activity, quality control, SQFM