Chromatographic Studies. Eleven Herbs Cooked With Pinellia Concocted A Live Attenuated Mechanism

This dissertation has two parts, the first part is the study of chemical change during the preparation of 11 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The second one is the study of detoxifcation mechanism of preparing process of the Raw Pinellia ternata(Thunb.), which called BanXia in Chinese.Along with the preparing process of TCM the amount of effectual components is likely to increase or have a higher extraction rate, while the amount of nocuous substances decreases and some other chemical changes might happen. The first part of this dissertation carry out the compare research of the preparing process of 11 TCM by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). As a result we found there was several chemical changes happened after preparing process of each TCM. Since chemical changes are the base of pharmacological effects, our attention focus to the changes of multi-components gives a new direction for the mechanism study of preparing process.Pinellia ternate (Thunb.), which called Banxia in Chinese, is poisonous and commonly used in Chinese native medicine. Ingestion of Raw Banxia gives a strong irritation on mucous membranes, results in intense pain of local mouth and throat, then causes the tongue to swell so as to render speech impossible. Profuse salivation and dysphagia are often present, also respiratory obstruction due to edema and constriction of the glottis. Thus it should be prepared as to be taken orally and the irritation disappears after preparing process.At present, the research of Banxia hasn't obtained breakthrough because its irritant ingredient hasn't been known yet. As a consequence there is no confirmable idea on the detoxifcation mechanism of preparing process since 1950s. Recently, Chinese scholars figured that the needle crystals of calcium oxalate (raphides) are the stimulating components in Raw Banxia, the raphides' hard texture and needle-like shape endow them with ability to penetrate cell membrane. Subsequently the cells' damage led to a sense of pain and inflammatory reaction occurred. This view has yet to be accepted in the academic community because it is difficult to explain why many other plants with no irritation effect also contain lots of needle-like calcium oxalate crystals.The second part of this article carry out on the relationship of calcium oxlate crystals with the irritation of Raw Banxia. There are two longitudinal grooves on the ridges of each raphide, and the groovs give the cross section of raphide an H-shape. The presence of raphides with particular shapes are essential but not sure in giving an irritation. There are some toxin, if not only one, concealled in the grooves or in the vicinity of raphides. When the raphides penetrate cell membrane, the tissue contact toxin and the irritation appeared. Moreover, a kind of indiscerptible protein in the crystal idioblasts which is likely to be the irritant ingredient was discovered. All of the three methods of preparing process are able to destroy this protein and therefore the irritation disappears.