Studies On Identification With HPLC,IR Fingerprinting And Quality Of Herba Epimedii

Herb Epimedii,the dried aerial parts of Epimedium brevicornum Maxim., E.sagittatum (Sieb. et Zucc.) Maxim.,E.pubescens Maxim.,E.koreanum Nakai and E.wushanense T.S. Ying ,is a well known traditional Chinese medicine.It has been widely used in the field of invigovate the kidney and strengthen 'Yang', and is reputed to be effective in therapy for impotence, prospermia, infertility, osteoporosis, antiaging, amnesia, climacteric hypertension and corresponding symptoms.The description of external appearance of Herba Epimedii is rather simple, so it is difficult to identify the above species of Herba Epimedii only with the traditional methods.It is imperative to establish some new modern methods for the identification of Herba Epimedii.The 8 officinal species of Epimedium including the above 5 species recorded in 'Chinese Pharmacopoeia' and other 3 species (E.acuminatum Franch.,E. myrianthum Stearn, E. leptorrhizum Steam) recorded in ' Guizhou Quality Criteria for Traditional Chinese Medical Material and Nationality Medical Material' are all widespread ,It is necessary also to evaluate the quality of the Herba Epimedii based on the samples of the above species and their wide-distributed habitats.To make results meaningful ,141 samples of Epimedium were collected from different habitats, in which 102 samples belong to the above 8 officinal species.A method based on HPLC fingerprinting for the identification of Herba Epimedii was established .The chromatograms of 141 samples of Epimedium were analyzed , and 21 known and unknown peaks ,which are present at the HPLC chromatograms of the above 8 officinal species or their adulterants ,were designated . According to the appearance of some peaks or the differences of their relative areas, some specific features of Epimedium brevicornu Maxim., E.koreanum Nakai , E.acuminatum Franch.and E.myrianthum Steam in HPLC chromatograms were found ,with which these species could be distinguished from other species inEpimedium .Comparing the fingerprints of the adulterants-E.stellulatum Stearn,E.baojingensis Q.L.Chen et B.M.Yang, E.zhushanense K.F.Wu&S.X.Qian and E. myrianthum Steam, E.pubescens Maxim.could also be identified.A method based on IR fingerprinting for the identification of Herba Epimedii was established .By this method, Epimedium brevicornum Maxim. could be identified from E.koreanum Nakai,and so E.sagittatum (Sieb. et Zucc.) Maxim.from...