AUTHOR=Yang Zhi-Rui , Wang Zi-Hao , Tang Jin-Fa , Yan Yan , Yue Shi-Jun , Feng Wu-Wen , Shi Zheng-Yuan , Meng Xin-Tong , Peng Cheng , Wang Chang-Yun , Meng Da-Li , Yan Dan TITLE=UPLC-QTOF/MSE and Bioassay Are Available Approaches for Identifying Quality Fluctuation of Xueshuantong Lyophilized Powder in Clinic JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology VOLUME=9 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2018.00633 DOI=10.3389/fphar.2018.00633 ISSN=1663-9812 ABSTRACT=

Xueshuantong Lyophilized Powder (XST), consisting of a series of saponins extracted from Panax notoginseng, is widely applied to treat acute cerebral infarction, stroke, and coronary heart disease in China. However, most adverse drug reactions (ADR) in clinic are caused by quality problems of XST. In this study, six batches of certainly abnormal, four batches of possibly abnormal XST, and eight batches of normal XST were obtained from the clinical practice. Their quality fluctuations were identified by ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with an electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry operating in MSE mode (UPLC-QTOF/MSE) and bioassays including antithrombin and proplasmin assay. Fourteen potential components responsible for clinical ADR were identified by UPLC-QTOF/MSE, especially ginsenoside Rg1, Rg3, Rb1 and notoginsenoside R1. In addition, 83.3% (5/6) and 50.0% (3/6) certainly abnormal samples could be identified by UPLC-QTOF/MSE and bioassay, respectively. Interestingly, further integration of the two methods could entirely identify all the certainly abnormal samples and inferred that all the possibly abnormal samples were closely related to their quality fluctuation. It indicates that it is advisable to combine UPLC-QTOF/MSE and bioassay for identifying quality fluctuation of XST, and thus reduce its ADR in clinic.