Quality Comparison Of Rhizoma Curcumae Longae Originated From Different Regions

Safety and effectiveness are the basic property of drugs.With the modernization of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM),it must be ensured raw herb used in pollution-free, pesticide residues and heavy metals content in the safe range,there should be strict quality standards to ensure the content of active ingredient stable and reliable.Herbal safety has aroused international attention in recent decades.There are many studies reported that the contents of heavy metal and pesticide residues in herbal are too high,adverse drug reactions even toxic reactions and so on.Besides,Pharmacodynamics of herbal is corrected with its varieties,origin and birth.Accordingly,its active ingredient may be very different,even reach hundreds of times.Therefore,it is hard to make sure the herb quality consistency and stability.Rhizoma Curcumae Longae is the dry roots of Zingiberaceae Curcuma longa L., which has the effects of invigorating the blood and promoting the Qi,inducing menstruation to relieve pain to the theory of TCM.Curcuma has a broad study and application value. Modern pharmacological studies focused on its anti-inflammatory,anti-tumor,antioxidant, hypolipidemic effects,it can also make spices,colorings,dyes,pesticides and so on. Comparing rhizoma Curcumae Longae originated from different regions including the one planted by organic cultivation in Zhaoqing experimental area in Guangdong province.The study can supply experimental evidence for evaluating safety and effectiveness of Curcuma and establish a new model on quality control and evaluation for Chinese herbal.The study includs the following sections:1.TLC identification of rhizoma Curcumae Longae originated from different regionsTen kinds of samples originated from different regions(including India,Sichuan, Guangxi,Guangdong,Yunnan,Fujian) was qualitative identification by thin-layer chromatography(TLC).Compared ten herbals with the standard curcuma,the results shown three components had been isolated,Rf values were 0.65,0.41,0.29.Combine with morphological identification,We can conclude 10 kinds of herbals shoule be curcuma.2.Determination of active ingredients in rhizoma Curcumae Longae originated from different regionsCurcuminoids including curcumin(Cur),Demethoxycurcumin(DMC), Bisdemethoxycurcumin(BDMC) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC);The essential oil was investigated by the method of Appendix X D Pharmacopoeia,ChP(2005).The results shown that:(1)Cur,DMC,BDMC of the total Curcuminoids accounted for 37.4%～49.7%,28.3%～40%and 17.9%～24.5%respectively.Cur> DMO BDMC,curcumin was the main active ingredient.The content of three components had a certain proportion about 4:3:2. Curcuminoids,Cur,DMC,BDMC of Curcumae accounted for 0.71%～4.39%, 0.28%～2.18%,0.27%～1.39%,0.16%～0.82%.According to the ChP(2005),there were 80% Cur up to standard.The content of Cur varied with a relatively large range,the maximum was about 8 times than the minimum.(2) It is regulated that essential oil should not be less than 7.0%(mL·g^-1) by Pharmacopoeia,ChP(2005).This results show that content of essential oil were 2.3～6.7%(mL·g^-1) which all failed to pharmacopoeia requirement.(3) The experimental results shown that the volatile oil was unstable and Cur decomposition easily under the light.Their content may be significantly decreased for many factors such as the habit of herbal,processing,storage and so on.3.Determination of heavy metal residues in rhizoma Curcumae Longae originated from different regionsTo determine the content of six heavy metal elements arsenic(As),mercury(Hg),Copper(Cu),lead(Pb),cadmium(Cd),chromium(Cr) in rhizoma Curcumae Longae and invest heavy metal residues in radix curcumae,soil,water and organic fertilizer used in Zhaoqing experiment area.All samples were processed by microwave digestion.,then Cu,Pb,Cd and Cr were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GAAAS);As and Hg were determined by atomic fluorescence spectrumis(AFS).(1)Heavy metals Cu,Pb,Cd in Curcuma exceeded the standard,expecially Cd,which residues varied with a relatively large range as 0.03～1.96 mg·kg^-1.the maximum was about 6 times than the limited demands.With reference to Green Standards of Medicinal Plants and Preparations for Foreign Trade and Economy published by Ministry of Commerceof the People's Republic of China(WM/T2-2004),the residues of As and Hg in most products were below the limit,but Cu,Pb and Cr were all exceeded.The excessive rate were as bellow:0%,Hg:0%,Cu:18.2%,Pb:9%;Cd:36.4%,the range of Cr residues was 1.4～6.0 mg·kg^-1(There is lack of limit for Cr in WM/T2-2004).(2) To invest heavy metal residues in radix curcumae,soil,water and fertilizer used in Zhaoqing experiment area.The test results show that the same heavy metal residues was different between rhizoma Curcuma Longae and radix curcumae,expecially As and Cd;In 3 organic fertilizers,6 kinds of heavy metal residues were all below the relevant standards; with regard to the soil planted Curcuma,As and Pb reached two grade of GB15618-95 Environmental quality standard for soils,Hg,Cu,Cd and Cr reached one;water meet GB5084-2005 Standards for irrigation water quality.4.Determination of water and Aflatoxin B₁(AFB₁)in rhizoma Curcumae Longae originated from different regionsStudy the water content of Curcuma by the method of Appendixâ…¨H ChP(2005); Aflatoxin B₁(AFB₁) of herbal were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit.The results show that water content of herbs all meet ChP requirements(no more than 16%).On the other hand,the content of AFB₁ should be less than 5μg·kg^-1 (tentative) according to WM/T2-2004.However,The result of Curcuma AFB₁ was serious with excessive rate of 100%.The content of AFB₁ betweenl5.5～49.2μg·kg^-1,which is 3～10 times than the limited.